Kyuuketsuki Ichigo
by yukikittycatofwisdom
Summary: An unexpected surprise leads Amu and co. to...America! But when the lines of friendship and enemies blur, Amu has to take action. But how? Summery sucks, I know. Sequel to Suki's Kyuuketsuki Neko. Amuto, of course. Supernatural/Horror/Humor/Romance/etc.
1. Leaving

Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara! Nor any of its characters! It all belongs to Peach-pit so don't sue!

Suki: guess who's back~ 8D

Yuuki: Hmm…Suki? -.-'

Suki: O.o how did you know!?

Yuuki: …okaaay…

Suki: on with the sequel of Kyuuketsuki Neko!

Chapter 1: Leaving

"_What_?" I stared in disbelief at the boy in front of me. Beside me, a black-haired girl slammed the door closed in his face, "_Not _gonna happen!" I heard a thud as the wood connected with his face. _That_ is what happens to anyone who gets on Yuuki Kawatta's nerves.

Yuuki narrowed her brown eyes and turned away, marching to the other room, "Suki! When does Keiko get home?" A blonde head poked in from the door way, "In an hour, why? Who was that?" I opened the door to find the subject of the girl's conversation rubbing his forehead, "That was just cruel."

"No, this is." I slammed the door again, nodding in satisfaction at the thud that followed. Suki opened the door again and stepped aside, blue eyes distant, "No, wait, I lied. In half an hour."

I sat down on the couch, running a hand through my pink hair, "Wait, wait. Don't change the subject." I gestured to the seats around me until the three of them sat, then continued, "You got _six tickets _to _America_ because you _think_ you've got a lead to where _Amulet_ is?" He nodded quickly, sending his black hair to swish around his head, "Yup."

I heard a crash then rapid footsteps on the stairs, announcing Tadase's arrival. He appeared behind me, "What!?" Suki crossed her arms, "Matt, what demon possessed you to make you do _that_? You used up most of our money, and we're trying to stay _away _from that…that witch!"

"She's not a witch," Yuuki defended, "She's just…different." The blonde rolled her eyes, "You're defending her? After all she's done? I haven't slept peacefully in like, forever!" Tadase sat down next to me, "Explain." Matt stared at him, sightlessly, "Don't go bossy on us again. Anyways, I lied. I'm not going for Amulet. We all need a vacation, and we've never been to America before."

"You-"

_**Just go along with me, just for now.**_

I bit my lip to keep from blurting out the truth.

Oh, I haven't properly introduced myself, huh? Until a few months ago, I was Amu Hinamori. Now I'm Amu. Just Amu. It all started when I found out I was to share a dorm with _the _Tsukiyomi Ikuto. Hotori Tadase, Hanashi Suki, Kawatta Yuuki, Koumori Matt, and Fujisaki Nagehiko, they were my friends. Miki, Utau, Kukai, and Yoru, all in the Tsukiyomi family, and my friends had some sort of rivalry I couldn't understand.

Then I found out the truth. They were all _vampires_.

Anyways, long story short, we were chased around be weirdo vamps, ranging from bloodthirsty royalty to bloodthirsty lunatics. Somehow, Tadase and I were changed from human lives to this so-called cursed life when being close to meeting Death. But we couldn't live with our parents anymore…

Leaving my Tsukiyomi friends, I came to live with the others. But Nagehiko disappeared one night, and we haven't been able to find him. Suki and Yuuki go to a high school nearby while Keiko works as a teacher. Tadase is the one who is supposedly our 'father', while I'm 'homeschooled'. Matt…kinda wanders around. Though we all know he's usually out looking for Nagehiko, or trying to get the neighbors off our backs.

We have a small house, it's not big but it has enough room for us all.

And Amulet? She was related to Yuuki, and was friends with my grandmother. She's horrible, but we haven't seen much of her since the church. Though he wasn't the only one that suffered her wrath, Nagehiko was the only one set out on revenge…I don't know what he'd actually do once he found her, but he's been like that, only taking the box she'd given him along.

So one last thing, we all have this _ability_ that comes with our vampire-ness. Tadase can heal almost any physical wound with a simple touch, Suki can see the possible futures, Yuuki can track anything down better than a hound dog, Keiko sees the past of anything she touches, Nagehiko can sense and even twist your emotions, while Matt can read minds. Me? Well, I'm not all that sure what _I _can do. I see this light, this aura, around anything living or undead. Anything that eats, let's say it like that. Colors vary, and I can get a sniff of what someone's thinking or feeling by watching the patterns.

Returning to the current problem…

"But _America_? _Really_? Why not...Florida?" Suki pouted, "I wanna go to Florida." Matt rolled his eyes, "Florida is _in_ America. And that's where we're going anyways."

"See but where we're going isn't the problem," Yuuki interrupted, "It's the amount of cash you blew off. None of us have actual jobs except for Keiko, and we started out with no money at all, remember? Well, she made enough to buy this house, but we were going to save the rest for an _emergency_. Do you hear me? _Emergency_!" I sighed, realizing that it wasn't even that that was bothering her. It was _who _suggested this that was the problem. Was she planning on going against _everything_ he said?

"Look, maybe we do need a vacation." I shrugged off the look she gave me, "We're all stressed and Florida sounds nice. A few days on the beach will do some good for us." I felt a shift in the energy of the aura beside me, followed by a sigh, "Amu-chan's right, this would do us good."

I let out a breath of relief as Tadase and Suki agreed. Yuuki jumped up and marched out the door, slamming it closed and yelling in annoyance, "Whatever! Do what you want!" Suki put two fingers to her forehead, "I predict~ Keiko will agree~"

"What…are you doing?" I lifted an eyebrow. She shrugged and dropped her hands, "People in the movies do it."

"Ah…well, I'm gonna go get some fresh air." I got up and headed out the back door, feeling the winter air rush at me. I debated whether I should go grab a jacked then decided not to waste any time and broke into a run.

Even running at this pace, it still took me a few hours to reach my destination. I slowed down as I entered the woods, breathing in the familiar scents. It's been almost half a year since I've been here…I brushed my hands across the trees as I passed by, searching out the path that would lead me there.

I stepped out of the trees' cover to stand before a house, sitting quietly and looking just like it had before. I climbed up the porch steps to knock on the door.

The door collapsed back.

"Umm…" I pushed it aside and stepped into the gloom, "Hello? Anybody home?" I searched the whole house and found no evidence of any inhabitants for a long while.

I sighed, walking back outside, "I guess they left…" Sitting with my back against a tree, I blinked tears from my eyes. Half a year…half a year of not seeing nor hearing anything of him… Hugging my knees against my chest, I closed my eyes, "Ikuto…"

I was snapped out of my thoughts as I felt someone approach. Deciding that if it was someone dangerous I could just run, I waited for them to appear.

"It's you." A petite blonde girl appeared from the shadows, eyes glowing a vibrant red. I tensed and prepared to bolt, "Did the Council send you?" She laughed, "Now, why would they do that? I'm like…hmm…You've met Dia, yes? Part of the Council yet not."

"Then what do you want?" I narrowed my eyes, slowly standing up. She brushed some dirt off her skirt, "I want a lot of things, yet nothing you can provide me with. I was merely taking a walk." She held out her hand, "My name's Rima." I cautiously shook her hand, "Amu…"

She waved over her shoulder, disappearing into the shadows the trees made, "Well, Amu, have a nice trip." I stared after her until she had completely disappeared before turning the other way and heading back to the house I'd just been at.

I climbed up the stairs and stumbled to a halt outside a door, pushing it open and carefully peering inside. It was completely empty, save for a few dusty pieces of furniture, and dark. I sat on the couch, staring out the window. Where _are _you guys?

I sat there for maybe an hour before finally going back home.

TBC…

Suki: so~ Whaddaya think? 8D I'm gonna try and keep it less confusing than the last one~

Yuuki: keyword, try

Suki: you know me well~ XD People requested Rima, so she'll have a bigger part in this one~ And sorry the second half is kinda rushed~

Amu: review please!

Ikuto: America? Are you _trying _to kill me?

Suki: you're a vampire; you're not supposed to be easy to kill~ XD

Everyone: ARIGATOU!


	2. Plane

Disclaimer: I do not own Shugo Chara! It all belongs to Peach-pit!

Suki: Hey~ we got some reviews and such about Rimahiko~ Um…not sure about that…maybe, okay, guys?

Yuuki: to the story! Starts in Amu's POV

Chapter 2: Plane

_I sat there for maybe an hour before finally going back home. _

XXX

"Where _were _you?" Keiko called from the kitchen as I crept inside. I sighed, caught, "Um…I was just…looking for Yuuki?" I sniffed and walked into the kitchen to find the silver-haired girl covered in flour, "Amu, are you asking me? Besides, Yuuki was sitting on the roof the whole time."

"Eheheh…what're you doing?" I quickly changed the subject, not wanting her to find out about my…little trip. Keiko poured some of the flour into a bowl, "Stupid kid wants to have a party for their birthday. I got stuck with baking a cake." I opened the fridge, "Let me help…Did you buy all this?" Taking out a few eggs, I looked around for a whisk, "I don't think you need lettuce for a cake…" She wiped her hands on the old shirt she was wearing, "Well, how am I supposed to know what to put in a cake?"

We turned around as a crash sounded. I sweat dropped. Matt sat on the floor, "What the heck- what's with the floor?"

"I just mopped the flour up!" Keiko stuck her tongue out and continued looking for a spoon. Using the table for support, he got up, only to bump into the stacks of the infamous flour bags, sending the room into a white flurry. Coughing, I made a mental note: keep the blind guy out of the kitchen.

When the powder had settled, I looked around the white, white kitchen. Keiko pulled at her hair, "I just cleaned!" Suki looked into the kitchen, "Hey-…oh my…" She sweat dropped, carefully stepping into the room, "It's snowing outside _and _inside." She picked up some of the flour before patting it into a ball, grinning in mischief, "Hmm…" I covered my head as she aimed at me, "Oh, Suki, no!"

"FLOUR-BALL FIIIIIIGHT!" She sang, as a bundle of flour was propelled at me. I picked up a handful of the flour, "Okay, you asked for it!"

After a minute or so of the four of us throwing flour at each other, and much laughing, I plopped down onto the floor, "Oh my gosh, we destroyed the place!" Suki sat down next to me, "It's what we do best, you know. Hey, since we're leaving, can we kill the house before going?"

"No!" Keiko pouted, "We spent so much money on it. My money, mind you." The blonde sighed mockingly, "Yes, mother." I looked around, "Hey, where'd Matt go?" Keiko sat facing us, her back to the room, "I refuse to look at the room of dirtiness!" I tilted my head to the side as the powder…moved…

"Ahh!" Keiko screamed as flour-covered arms hugged her, "Gotcha!" I tried to hold back a laugh as she threw a fist-full of the stuff at his face, "Hey! That's not fair! How the heck do you camouflage with flour anyways?!" Suki, on the other hand, made no attempt to hide her laughter from the other.

"What's so funny?!" Keiko huffed, crossing her arms, "I liked these jeans too…"

"What…are you guys doing…?" Yuuki appeared in the door way, looking at the disaster that was the kitchen. Tadase stepped inside and slipped on the eggs on the floor, falling on his back, "Itte…"

As he got back up, the four of us stared at them before grins split our faces, "GET THEM!"

And on goes the flour fight.

"Ha!" I dodged the flour being thrown at me and picked up some at the same time, hurtling it at Tadase. He against slipped, landing in the pile of powder Keiko had been making, and sending it everywhere. Laughing so much tears streaked down my face, I looked out the window and gasped, "Ah, it's late!" Suki jumped onto the table, holding a long bread in her hand, "Listen to my Tadase impression! BWAHAHAHAHA! I AM NOT A PRINCE, I AM KING! BWAHAHAHA!" Tadase jumped up beside her, "Hey!" They played a game of tug-of-war with the bread until it split and half and they fell to the floor.

After another hour or two of white fun, we sat on the floor, covered in white powder. I sat down between Tadase and Keiko, "Well, who knew baking a cake could be so much fun?" Suki, sitting next to Yuuki, flicked some flour off her arm, "And messy!" Matt, sitting between Yuuki and Keiko, laughed nervously, "So…how bad is it?" Keiko raised her hand, "I vote Tadase cleans it!" Tadase sweat dropped, "Me…? You were the one trying to bake a cake. She crossed her arms, "I had already cleaned and got it under control…until Amu came and helped me!"

"It's not my fault," I corrected, "Matt's the one who sent the flour flying everywhere first." We all turned to look at him, only to find he'd fallen asleep somehow… Yuuki tried shrugging his head off her shoulder, "Well, who started the flour fight?"

Suki jumped up and bolted from the room, "Run, run as fast as you can! You can't catch me! I'm the ginger-head girl!" Keiko ran after her, "Oi! You're getting flour all over the house!" A vein popped on Tadase's head, "Hey, so are you!"

"Whatever, dad!" They mocked as he chased after them. I laughed softly before leaning my head against the cabinet behind me. I opened my eyes as I felt the auras beside me calm, and looked to see they both were asleep. For real this time, not just pretending. I smiled before getting up, patting their heads as I left the room. The mess can wait…

XXX

"Finally done!" Keiko dusted off her hands, "I thought we'd never finish!" It was about noon when, with the combined efforts of the six of us, the kitchen was back to its original state.

"I am never going near flour again." Suki mumbled, yawning. I swung the bag full of unusable food over my shoulder and went outside, trudging through the snow to try and find the trash can. It was snowing at the moment, but it reached to my knees already. Dumping he bag into the found can, I wiped my forehead with the back of my hand.

A light I didn't recognize at first lit up at the corner of my eye. I spun around, with much difficulty, to face them. Rima stood on top of the piles of snow, not even leaving footprints. I looked up at her before finally breaking the silence, "It's you again." She brushed some hair behind her ear, making sure the sunglasses didn't fall off, "Yes, and you."

"Okay, spill. What do you want?" I glared, wanting to know why one of the people who'd caused all the problems came up to me like we were friends. Great, I inwardly rolled my eyes, I'm starting to think like somebody I know…

"Nothing." She returned my glare with an innocent stare, "I'm just taking a walk."

"You already used up that excuse." I tried to figure out if there were any other surrounding us, but found none. Rim shrugged, continuing on her way, "Relax, I'm not trying to set up a trap for you." I waited until I was completely sure she'd gone before heading back inside, brushing snow off my legs and kicking off my boots.

"So, when exactly does our plane leave?" Tadase was asking, putting away the brooms into the closet. Matt took the tickets out of his pocket and handed it to Keiko. She unfolded the little papers, "Says…God, Matt, this is tomorrow!" She held them close to his face, "_Tomorrow_!" He snatched back the papers, "Hey, it's December, you have no idea how hard it was to even get these things."

"Why get them at all?!" Yuuki jumped over the couch to take the tickets, "Why can't this wait until after the winter holidays? We'd save a lot of money." He took them back, "Because, we need to get there _now_."

"So it wasn't just a coincidence with the date." Keiko crossed her arms. "Well…" Matt shook his head, "Oh just forget about it! I'll go alone if you're so against it." He tossed the tickets back at them and left, slamming the door on his way out. Tadase sighed, "Why does everyone abuse my door?"

It was my turn to sigh as I climbed up the stairs, climbing out the window to sit on the roof, "Door abuse is against the law." I scolded. He crossed his arms over his knees and didn't respond, staring out to nothingness. I sat next to him, "Ignoring me? You know, they're still gonna come." When I didn't get an answer, I hit his shoulder lightly, "Hey?"

"Can't a guy sulk in peace?" He brushed the snow away, "Forget about it. I'm just tired."

"We're all tired. A vacation really is a good idea." I muttered. He lifted an eyebrow, "Hmm? Why are you saying that like I'm a little brother or something?"

"Huh?"

"You used that tone with Ami." He murmured, holding out his hand as snow began to fall again. I looked out over the houses, "Oh…I never noticed…"

"_Hair that flows and eyes blood red, the one who'd stoop so low just to chop off your head_…" Matt dropped his head back onto his knees, "_Before you set off on a journey for revenge, dig two graves…_" I sighed, "What is with that poem anyways? And did you add that last part?" He shrugged, "Hmm…dunno. The second part is just a saying I heard somewhere…" I pulled on his ear, "Oi, don't you go running off for revenge too."

"Ow, ow, ow, I woooon't!" He pouted and I laughed before letting go, "Good."

"Ahem."

I turned to look in the direction of the cough. Yuuki was standing on a ladder, arms resting on the roof with an annoyed expression on her face, "Am I interrupting something?"

"No. Come here? The night's nice." I patted the space next to me. She took a deep breath, mist hanging in front of her for a bit, before snorting softly, "Yeah, right. Romantic night, huh?" She slid back down the ladder, pulling it away. I lifted an eyebrow, "Huh? What's that mean? You okay?" I watched as he covered his head, face twisted in pain, "Ugh…"

"What?" I waved snow away from my face. After a bit, he shook his head, "Headache…"

XXX

"G'night!" I called as I switched off the lights. Keiko dived under the covers of her bed, "Night, night." Closing my eyes, I drifted off.

_I looked around, recognizing the meadow. Looking at my hands, I smiled, "Aruto's meadow…" I stood up and walked in the sunlight for a bit, flowers brushing against my legs, before heading to the trees. Once under, I stretched out my paws, getting leaves stuck on the claws._

_A kitten…That was my animal… I yawned, stretching again._

"_Meow."_

"_Hi." I grinned, seeing the familiar furry face appear from under a pile of leaves. The black cat waved his tail as a sort of greeting before disappearing again. I followed him, not having anything better to do. He led me to the lake again. I sat next to him as he stared at the murky water. I tilted my head to the side, wondering what was so fascinating about it._

_I looked up at him, watching the sapphire eyes grow distant with every passing second. "Hey…" I nudged his shoulder with my tail. He looked down at me, "Meow." I pouted, "Jeesh, can't you talk?" His ears flattened to his head, "…Meow." The cat's gaze was pulled back to the ripples in the water. I sighed and sat there, growing increasingly bored. I enjoyed just being near the cat, I wasn't sure why and a guilty feeling filled me about it, but my patience has decreased much in the past few months…_

_My brown fuzzy ears perked as a ringing sounded._

"AMU, WAKE UP!"

My eyes snapped open as I jumped up, flailing my arms around to get in a fighting stance when I noticed it was still dark, "Who!? What?! Where?!" Keiko let out a breath of annoyance, slamming her hand against my alarm clock, "Hello, we have to get to the airport! You have an hour!" I let myself fall back onto the bed, "An hour…?"

"Get packed." She dropped my bag onto my face. I sighed, getting up and shoving all my belongings into the bag. I didn't have much. Only a bit more clothes than what I'd left with a few months ago…

Brushing my teeth and fixing my hair, I ran around the room. Ah, Amu the multi-tasker.

After finally getting the bag all ready, leaving it on the bed, I rinsed my mouth and left my hair down, no X clip. Can't be recognized… I sighed, grabbing the clothes I'd left on the bed and putting them on. Jeans and a white turtle-necked sweater.

Suki appeared at the door, "Hey, you guys ready?" We nodded and followed her downstairs. Tadase, wrapping his scarf around his neck, smiled as we came down, "Good morning." Yuuki was sitting on the ground, tying her boots up, "So, we gonna stop for a snack or what?" Matt, standing nearby, opened his mouth to say something then closed it again, looking away.

I stuffed my feet into my shoes, "Well, we could just have some blood tablets on the plane ride." I blinked as a rumbling sound reached my ears. I looked back at Tadase, who was blushing and looking down at his feet, and laughed softly, "Or we could take a detour to the woods, ne?"

XXX

"Delicious-ness~" Suki sighed blissfully, licking the last few drops of blood from her lips. Keiko snickered, "Tadase really was hungry, he tore into that deer like a mad dog." Tadase's face turned red, "W-well…" Yuuki spun in a slow circle, looking around as we entered the air port, "Whoa…it's so big!" I nodded, "Yeah. You never flown before?" She continued her looking around, "Nope, never. Well, actually, yes. But not in a plane." Matt handed Tadase a piece of paper, "Where do we wait?"

"Wait?" Suki pouted, "We have to _wait_?" I patted her back, "It may not be that long of a wait."

XXX

"Please fasten your seatbelts. We are about to take off. And thank you for flying with us today. We hope you…" I drowned out the usual blabber of the flight attendants and held my hands against the glass, face pressed against the window as we took off. Next to me, I felt the aura calm until Tadase was asleep.

Yuuki and Keiko sat in front of us while Suki and Matt sat behind us. When we were gliding in the air, I looked away from the window and pulled a little case out of my bag. Tracing the familiar design with my finger, I dropped a tablet into a glass of water. Hmm…never actually had one of these… Gulping it down quickly, I grimaced. Ewwww…

Keiko snickered, sitting backwards in her seat, "Disgusting, right? You'll get used to it." Suki leaned over from behind me, "Nah, you won't ever like it. You just won't hate it as much." I put the glass down, "Oh, thanks, guys. You're so encouraging." They grinned, "You're welcome!"

XXX

"I hate…planes…" Yuuki wrapped her arms around her stomach. Suki patted her head, "Poor Yuuki-tan."

"Ow!"

We looked over to see Matt rubbing his forehead, standing in front of a pole. Keiko burst out laughing, "HAHA!" Yuuki joined her, "Finally! I get to see _you _run into a pole this time!" I smiled, not caring that the people around us gave us disapproving glances. Don't make fun of the blind, kids.

Turning in a circle, I took in the view of the Florida airport. Wow, it's much warmer in here. I froze as I caught sight of a blue head amongst the crowd.

TBC…

Suki: yo~ So, since we also got people saying stuff about how some chapters were so short and could have been combined to make Kyuuketsuki Neko shorter, we're gonna make sure each chapter has at least 1500 words!

Yuuki: oh joy

Suki: look forward to longer chapters~ ;9 No proofreading, btw

Yuuki: Yay

Suki: anywho~ It's almost Thanksgiving Break SO I'll be able to work more on the chapters~ and I'm gonna try and pile a bunch of chapters up then upload them all on Thanksgiving~ Look forward to that too~ On a different note, Dec. 1st is Ikuto's b-day~ yay~

Ikuto: whoo –totally UNexcited like-

Suki: BUT guess who else's birthday it is~

Yuuki: M-

Suki: not YOU! You know whose birthday it is!

Yuuki: _ …fine…

Suki: guess and you get a cookie! XD And if you know us in reaaaal life, don't give it away!

Everyone: ARIGATOU! (Final Word Count: 2853)


	3. Florida

Disclaimer: We do not own Shugo Chara! Everything belongs to Peach-pit so don't sue

Suki: Allo again~ here is chapter 3~

Yuuki: -Claps- hurray, you can count~

Suki: XD

Chapter 3: Florida

_Turning in a circle, I took in the view of the Florida airport. Wow, it's much warmer in here. I froze as I caught sight of a blue head amongst the crowd._

I pushed past the crowd, heading towards the figure. What if…is it really…? I reached them and grabbed onto their sleeve, "Ikuto!" They turned around, "Huh?" I felt disappointment replace the smile on my face, "Oh…I'm sorry, I thought you were somebody else." She rolled her eyes, disappearing into the crowd. Oh wait; she probably doesn't understand Japanese…How the heck are we going to talk to anyone…?

"Hey." Tadase put a hand on my shoulder, "You okay?" I took a deep breath before going back to join the others. Keiko and Suki brought our bags over, "Well, shall we grab a taxi?" Yuuki held up keys as she came back, "I just rented us a car."

XXX

I sat in the back of the silver van, Keiko was driving, Yuuki was in the passenger seat, and Suki and Matt sat in the seats in the middle. Tadase and I found ourselves sitting in the very back, holding the bags back from falling onto us every time we hit a bump.

"Is this it?" Suki pointed to the nth hotel she found. Yuuki looked at the address on the paper in her lap, "Nope. Take a right." Keiko sighed, turning the car, "What's the name?"

"Holiday Inn." Yuuki muttered. (A.n. - we do not own!) I sighed, watching the buildings, people, and trees zoom by outside. I just hope we don't have to wait too long to get there. I winced as a bag fell on my head. Stupid road bumps!

XXX

About an hour later, we finally parked in front of the hotel and checked in. Once we were inside our suite, I ran over to the windows and pulled back the windows to reveal a beautiful view of the beach. It was still morning here, and the sun was just rising. Suki came back from exploring all the rooms, "So let's unpack and start enjoying this vacation! The pool's almost completely empty, so let's go there!"

Agreeing to go down to the pool in ten minutes, I headed off to find which room would be mine. The suite was big, but not too big. When you walked in, there was the living room with a TV, couches, and some other comfy looking chairs surrounding a table. To the side, was a small kitchen with the basic oven, stove, refrigerator, etc. At the end of the room, was the wall that was just a big window, looking out over the ocean. To the side was a short hall. Two rooms on either side.

I went into the left room closest to the living room and found Suki jumping on one bed, Yuuki unpacking her things on the other. In the other room on the left, which was the smaller one, Keiko was looking for bed sheets. I left and crossed to the right room, across from Keiko, Tadase was trying to reach the pillows which were stacked high in the closet. Matt sat on the other bed, cross-legged and lost in his own thoughts. I entered the last room.

It had a bed in the right corner, a balcony to the left and a small desk against the left wall. Going inside, I found the closet facing the end of my bed.

I quickly unpacked my things and fished out my bathing suit. A dip in the pool would be nice…I wonder if they have a hot tub?

"AMUUUUU!"

I turned around and smiled, "In a second, Suki." She nodded, closing the door as she left. I turned back to the clothing in my hands. Why did Keiko have to get me _this_ one? I sighed, scolding myself for not checking the bag before we'd left the store. Well, too late now…

XXX

Pulling on some sandals and grabbing my towel, I walked into the living room to find the others waiting. Tadase, wearing trunks and a long white shirt, wrapped the keys to the suite and his cell phone into his towel, "Okay, we can go now?" Suki squealed, tripping over her towel in an attempt to run out the door while Yuuki was still tying her hair up into a ponytail. She carefully got up again and walked more slowly out the door, towel flapping behind her like a cape. She was wearing a one piece blue and white striped bathing suit.

Yuuki, wearing a similar one, only black and white, tied her own hair up, "Jeesh, wait for us!" Keiko quickly replaced her sneakers for flip flops and ran after them. She was just wearing swimming shorts and a top that showed her back, "Don't scare everyone away!" I wrapped my towel around me before following them, Tadase dragging Matt along, who hadn't wanted to come, wearing shorts and a long t-shirt.

I looked down at the pink and black two-piece that Keiko'd bought me at the airport. At least it doesn't have some airport logo on it…

We arrived at the pool that was completely devoid of anybody. Except for a few adults who quickly left once they saw us teenagers coming.

"CANNONBALL!" Keiko yelled, kicking off her shoes and throwing them with her towel at one of the chairs surrounding the pool. Suki did the same, dropping her stuff on the same chair. I put my stuff down next to theirs, waiting till everyone got in the pool before sitting on another chair.

It was big, not too big, but okay. There weren't any stairs, just stepping into one end of the pool where the water only reached your ankles. It grew deeper, the deepest being 12 ft. in the middle, and then shallow at the other end of the pool. There were ladders on either side of the deepest part of the pool. Off to the side was a circular hot tub, water looking very warm.

"COLD!" Suki broke through the surface, hair stuck to her face. Yuuki stood near the ladder after Tadase climbed down, not getting in, "Well, you'll get used to it." The blonde splashed her, "Get in! Get in!"

"I'd rather not- AHHH!" She fell in, coughing as she came back from under the water, glaring at Matt, "What the heck!? Why'd ya push me in!?" He shrugged, kneeling beside the pool, "Birdie scared of the water?" She flushed, sinking her head beneath the surface.

I got up, pushing him into the water before jumping in myself, "Have fun, idiots."

XXX

"And that's the last thing on the list." I crumbled up the paper and tossed it into a nearby trash can. Tadase closed the trunk of the car, making sure none of the bags fell out. Suki leaned out the passenger side window, arms resting on the side, "Hey, did you remember to get soap?" I slapped my forehead, "Darn, I knew I forgot something! I'll be right back." I ran back into the store, quickly scanning the aisles. Where do they keep the dang soap?

In my rush, I didn't notice him until it was too late.

"Oof!" I fell back, landing on the ground. He jumped, startled, and offered me a hand, "Hey, are you…o…kay…?" We stared at each other, eyes wide.

"You…IKUTO!?"

TBC…

Suki: Hmm…I didn't reach my word goal, but I love cliffies… XD

Yuuki: whoo~ Ikuto~

Suki: okay~ so, get ready for amuto fluff ;9 as requested~

Amu: review please~

Miki: or I'll seriously find you…

Yoru: …nya…

Suki: stalker~ XD

Everyone: ARIGATOU!

(Final Word Count 1307)


	4. House of DOOM

Suki: Bleh, the disclaimer is in the previous chapters~

Yuuki: those things are annoying…

Suki: yeah~ I know, we're OBVIOUSLY not Peach-pit XP

Yoru: nya~

Suki: to the story of DOOM AND FLUFF! Oh and HAPPY THANKSGIVING!

Miki: chapter starts in Amu's POV

Chapter 4: Haunted House of DOOM

"_Oof!" I fell back, landing on the ground. He jumped, startled, and offered me a hand, "Hey, are you…o…kay…?" We stared at each other, eyes wide. "You…IKUTO!?" _

I took his hand and he pulled me up. Ikuto blinked, "Um…Amu?" I mentally took a picture of his face. Hey, it's not every day you get to see Ikuto with such a surprised and speechless face!

"W-what're you doing here?" I blurted, not noticing the crowd that was gathering. He scratched the back of his neck, "Um, Dad got a job…and we moved here…What're _you_ doing here?"

"Vacation." I murmured, looking behind him, "Are the others here too?" He turned around, "Oh, yeah, Yoru was here a second ago…" We sweat dropped, seeing him trying to swim through the crowd to us. "Ikuto nyaaaa! You left me alone! I thought I was lost forever nya!" Yoru crawled out and stood before us, "Oh…Hi, Amu nya!"

"You don't seem surprised." I crossed my arms. He tilted his head to the side, "Should I be nya?"

"Oh nevermind." Ikuto muttered, looking around in annoyance, "What?!" The crowd dispersed, finally leaving. They muttered stuff about this possibly being a new movie. We stood there awkwardly, not finding anything to say.

"So…you were looking for something?" He scratched a nonexistent itch on his neck. "Oh, yeah…Soap." I scanned the shelves, Ikuto and Yoru walking silently beside me.

Finally, we left the store, a bag of soap in my arms. The others looked up as we approached, expressions ranging from surprise to annoyance. Keiko got back out of the van, "Hmm? The Tsukiyomi's are here?" Yuuki crossed her arms, "And I bet you guys were chatting away when we need to get these back and get to the park on time or we'll have wasted more money!"

"Gah! I forgot!" I quickly put the bag in the trunk before turning to Tadase, "So?" He blinked before looking back at everyone else, "Well…I guess we could bring them along…" Yuuki threw her hands up, climbing into the car, "Whatever! Let's just hurry it up!"

"What's crawling under her skin nya?" Yoru lifted an eyebrow. I sighed, "Oh…nothing. So you wanna come?" They exchanged a glance before shrugging, "We've got time."

XXX

"NO! I refuse!" I struggled out of their grasp. Tadase had a small smile on his face, sweat drop appearing on his head, "Eto…" Keiko turned around and burst out laughing, "Still afraid of ghosts, Amu?" Ikuto snickered as my face flushed, "W-well…" Suki and Yoru dragged me towards the entrance of the haunted house of the amusement park, "C'mon!" Yuuki walked past us and went inside, "Hurry up, guys." Matt sighed, "Amu dear is afraid of so many childish things." (A.n. - _Suki: _D8 Y-Yuuki…you changed it! _Yuuki: _what you put there didn't make sense -.-') A vein popped on my forehead, "What was that!?" He grinned innocently as we entered the house of DOOM. Seriously; that's what the sign said. House of DOOM.

"Please walk quickly and wait until the bar comes down automatically." A recorded voice said. I stepped onto the conveyer belt and quickly sat into one of the moving carts. Ikuto sat next to me just as the bar came down. The cart turned to its side so I could see the people ahead and after us. Tadase and Suki were riding the cart that was ahead of us, the two blonds disappearing into the shadows the 'cave' made. Yuuki, grumbling, was sharing the cart after us with Matt. Behind them, I could see Yoru and Keiko rushing to get on before the cart left them.

I gulped, sinking back into the bench like seat as we entered the little cave. I jumped as a voice came from behind me, "Welcome aboard the DOOM BUGGY! Keep your hands and feet inside your DOOM BUGGY at all times…or you might just lose them. HAHAHA!" I glared at the little picture of a bat holding a microphone as the voice repeated the same thing in a bunch of different languages. Ikuto chuckled, "You haven't changed much." I glanced back at him, "Neither have you. So, how're the others?" His reply was interrupted by the same male voice as before, "You scared yet? No? Then prepare to…SCREAM!"

I squeaked and pressed against the black wall of the cart that kept us from falling out as we spun, going downhill. I heard Suki's loud laughter ahead of us…or behind us…Uhh…I feel dizzy!

Finally, the spinning stopped and I let out a breath of relief, loosening my death grip on the bar. Wait…I felt the bar with my fingers. Why is the bar cold and soft…?

"Oh!" I pulled my hand back, blushing. Ikuto smiled, taking my hand back in his, "It's okay." I looked out, trying to hide the blush, as we slowly went down a smaller hill. Only we were backwards. Spider webs and insects were covering the walls, some brushing against the sides of the carts. Cardboard pieces kept popping up, covered with white sheets. The faces on them were creepy and the air vents underneath made them flutter around. I concentrated on the back of Yuuki and Matt's cart to keep from screaming. Oh god…

"Don't worry, this is just the beginning! Hold on tight to your DOOM BUGGY! Don't fall!"

A bunch of screams and laughs erupted as the cart floor slid apart, bullets of air shooting up at us. I clung to Ikuto's arm as the air turned to faces and zoomed up, laughing. He stroked my trembling back, "It's just holograms, relax. Don't have a heart attack, okay?"

We started spinning again as the floor closed up, a disgusting smell reaching our noses. The people around us didn't seem to notice it so I figured it must have been paint and dust or something. The cart stopped spinning, turning to the side as we passed a bigger room with a table in the middle. The table cloth floating off the table, an orb with a green face bobbing up and down above it. I ignored the orb's babble, watching fake mice and cats crawl across the floor.

"You okay, Amu-chan?" Tadase called over. I looked up to see the carts were much closer to each other now. We could touch the others if we wanted. I smiled weakly, "Y-yeah…scary, huh?" Suki laughed, pointing at the orb, "Shaddup, lady! We don't care about your spells!" I sweat dropped, "Or not…"

"Well you're not the only one who's freaked out!" Keiko waved to us. Yoru sighed, "Why aren't we moving? This is boring!"

Just as he said it, we started moving, the carts staying sideways. Shots of air zoomed by again, not taking any shape this time.

"Gah, not again!"

I looked over to see Yuuki and Matt holding onto each other, covering their heads. Ikuto whistled, "Oi, brat, I'm jealous."

"H-hey! At least you can see what's happening! Wait- huh?!"

I blinked, confused on why Ikuto would say he was jealous. Jealous of what? Hmm…

We entered another room, pictures and doors covering the walls, all of them creaking. The people in the pictures kept smiling creepily then glaring. I whimpered as a floating candle sauntered past us, others floating after it. Exiting that hall, we spun once before facing a mirror. I gasped as, in the mirror, I saw a ghost sitting between Ikuto and I, arms un-crossing. We kept moving, but it seemed like the ghost really was in the cart with us, moving with us. I felt a chill go down my spine as it draped its arms over our shoulders, looking back and forth, cackling madly. I quickly glanced at the others to see similar ghosts sitting in their carts through the mirror.

"I-Ikuto! W-what is that thing!? It MOVES!" I pulled on his sleeve. He looked back at me, "Hologram, the camera is connected to the cart and that chill was just air being blown on our necks." I rubbed my arms as we left the mirror hall, entering another small cave.

"Scared NOW, yes?" The voice laughed darkly, "Well, hold on to your partner! Hold on to that DOOM BUGGY, because you're about to be…TERRIFIED!" I squeaked as we dropped, going down the fast elevator type thing. Blue footprints appeared on the wall, disappearing again. The drop stopped and we passed a room with a table and organ. The pipe organ had spider webs on it and played by itself. Ghosts appeared at the table, a headless one crawling over the table. Some were dancing, floating up to the chandelier on the ceiling then back. I looked down at the room, then backed up as they stopped in front of us.

"Gahaha! Come dance, come dance!" They're faces turned into bloody and rotten flesh, "Or DIE!" Once again leaving the room, we faced forward- or what I thought was forward since I lost track- passing by more spider webs. A flurry of bats screeched and flew by as we left the hall, coming into a room playing Dracula music.

Someone wearing a long black cape sat at a grand piano, back facing us. He laughed, shoulders shaking as he turned around, black hair slicked back. His pale skin had a blue-ish tint to it. A smile broke across his face, revealing long white fangs, "Heh, heh, heh! Want to come to dinner?" He had an accent as he stood, walking as though floating right towards us, "You're the dinner!"

I jumped back as it launched itself at us, a spray of water going at it. It disappeared as people laughed at the melting goo that replaced it. Ikuto hissed, turning away, "Oh please, that is lame. Do we say that? No, no we don't. And we're not blue! And we don't melt with water either." I sighed in relief as we left the room.

"Haha! I want to suck your blood!" The goo yelled as we disappeared down the hall.

"Ugh…what next!?" Yuuki whimpered. Tadase looked back at us, "Actually, there's light ahead. I think the ride's over." Suki groaned, "What!? What a lame haunted house!" I pouted, "I thought it was scary."

We climbed out of the cart, stepping onto another conveyer belt. Walking out a door, we hurried down the steps of the house, looking around for something else to do. Ikuto snickered, "I can't believe you got so scared." I crossed my arms, "Hey, I wasn't the only one! Some kid was crying."

"Yeah, but that was a _five_-year old." He smirked as I blushed. Yuuki and Matt walked past us, moving like little zombies.

"But _they_'re older than me." I grinned in triumph. Ikuto ruffled up my hair, "Yeah, yeah, okay, Amu."

Suki started jumping up and down, "Hey! Look, it's another haunted house!" Yuuki, Matt and I surrounded her, "NO MORE HAUNTED HOUSES!"

TBC…

Suki: allo~ ;) not that much fluff in this one and it's a bit rushed, but I'm working on it! Here's our little agenda~ Fluff, fluff, fluff, fluff…more fluff…THEN! Finding Nagehiko~ And after that! MORE FLUFF! 8D you asked for it! IT'LL BE A FLUFF ATTACK! BWAHAHAHA! HOLD ONTO YOUR FLUFF BUGGY! Speaking of fluff~ That haunted house (House of DOOM) is an actual place! See, Yuuki-tan's awesome parents take them to either Florida or Canada every summer! And Yuuki (being the oldest) gets to take a friend with her~ Last year I couldn't go cause my parents were taking me and my brother to visit family people… Lizy always spends summer vacation with her dad in Paris~

Yuuki: Last year it was California

Suki: whatever~ XD Bri couldn't come either~ But this year I DID go! We went to Florida and Disney and Sea World and all that junk~ (so much walking! I DIED DX but it was fun~) And we went to a Haunted House! Though I changed, added, took away junk for this XP and I had to do a little remembering and use Yuuki's brain to figure out how they did some of the things such as the mirror ghosts and the vampire room was a bit different, it was actually in the hall. There were a bunch of coffins that opened up and a hand reached out. My vamp room was sooooo much better~

Yuuki: And the candle didn't actually float past you. It was close to the beginning of the ride. You spun a bit and there was a hall that you didn't go in, a floating candle kept getting closer to you

Suki: And that little bat picture with a microphone wasn't actually on all the carts. Some kid drew it on cause we went on two times. And that's how we found it. But I couldn't remember the name of that little microphone thinger…intercom? No…but anyways, that voice said DOOM BUGGY too much…and laughed weird… Oh my gosh! I tripped the first time we went on cause the room was kind of dark and I didn't notice the conveyer belt! I almost crashed into the wall AND almost missed the cart!

Yuuki: plus there was no elevator thing

Suki: but there were footprints…somewhere…

Yuuki: was it the candle hall?

Suki: no…the spider ceiling?

Yuuki: no…there were steps and stairs on the ceiling and the footprints were climbing them…

Suki: It was after the floating orb thingy….

Yuuki: and after the graveyard room…

Suki: DARN IT! I forgot the graveyard room! DX NOOOOO! Besides that, at the beginning, how people were muttering stuff about it being a movie and all? That actually happened to us! XD For Halloween this year, we went as the Ouran High School Host Club! We actually started our costumes in the summer~ We brought it along cause we were going to work on it! Yuuki was Haruhi and I was Honey~ We didn't have the wigs yet, but we went out and randomly decided to act in character XD it was hilarious! We actually got a CROWD 8D boo-YAH!

Everyone: ARIGATOU!

(Final Word Count: 2373)


	5. Ice Cream

Suki: ARGH! No more disclaimers, kay? Need to see it to believe it, go to previous chapies

Yuuki: …no proofreading this time

Suki: hey…Word just said chapies isn't a word, and cause those little red lines annoy me, I clicked on it….did you know crappies was a word on Word? Oh…but apparently CAUSE is not?!

Yuuki: …nya~

Suki: and I dun really like this chapter...D8 I dun know why though...

Miki: chapter starts in Amu's POV

Chapter 5: Ice Cream

_Suki started jumping up and down, "Hey! Look, it's another haunted house!" Yuuki, Matt and I surrounded her, "NO MORE HAUNTED HOUSES!" _

XXX

I watched Keiko put a drop of the liquid Dia gave us in the ice cream before handing it to us, "Well, it's about time we test this thing out." I stared at it, finding it suddenly strange to be holding an ice cream cone. Beside me, Ikuto sniffed at the chocolate and strawberry swirl ice cream suspiciously. The others just stared at it. Tadase sighed, switching the vanilla cone to his other hand, "So….is _anybody_ gonna try it?" Yuuki bit her lip, "On three then?" We nodded.

"One…two…three…"

Nobody took any. I watched the vanilla ice cream in my hand start to melt slowly. Suki tried to keep her Cookies n' Cream from dripping by blowing on it. Keiko sweat dropped, "Suki, that's not gonna work."

"Well, I don't want sticky hands so…" Yuuki cautiously took a lick of the Strawberry ice cream. We stared and waited. She took another bite, "…Not like blood…but it's okay."

Ah…who knew it was so hard to eat ice cream?

Eating the said sweets, we walked around.

"Amu dear, you've got some on your cheek." Matt stole my napkin and handed it to Yoru, who then wiped his mouth with it, "Oops, was this yours?" He snickered in mischief. I pouted, "Oh c'mon!"

Ikuto smirked, "Let me help you with that."

"Ikuto…? Hey, Ikuto, I don't like that look! What- what're ya doing!? Hey!" My face heated up as he licked the ice cream off my cheek, "I-Ikuto!"

He licked at his lips, "Mm, much better than the stuff in the cone."

"IKUTO!" I looked around, seeing some people laughing quietly. "P-pervert!" I nibbled on the ice cream, hoping to cool off my face.

"Toss the ring around the bottle and win a prize! You get three tries for one quarter!" A man at a booth shouted, waving around to the people passing by and trying to show off the large amount of stuffed animals on the shelves.

"OHMIGOSH IT'S ME!" Suki pointed at the stuffed monkey sitting on the counter. Tadase threw his napkin into a nearby trashcan, "Shouldn't we finish seeing everything before it's time to go?" She pouted, looking at me with big, sparkly eyes. I laughed nervously, "Eheh…don't look at me like that! Besides, I can't throw for…my…life…oh that's so cute!" I pointed at the two little stuffed cats cuddling with each other. Suki and I looked back at Tadase again, big, sparkly eyes in place, "T-Tadase-kuuun!" A small blush crept onto his face as he bit his lip, "Eto…okay, fine." He gave in. We jumped up and down, hugging him, "Thank you, thank you, thank you!" Ikuto patted his head, "You give in too easily, kiddy king."

We stood in front of the booth, watching the man give his instructions but not really paying any attention. Finally, he took the quarters and gave us each three rings. The others stood behind us, waiting for the whining of losing to begin. Suki tossed hers first. The first one hit the stuffed animals in the back, the second knocked over the bottle, and the third hit the man in the nose. She sighed, gloomily dragging herself back to the others.

I twirled one of the rings on my finger. Ugh…how the heck am I supposed to get this thing…all the way over there? I threw my first one too lightly, and it just tapped against the bottle with a _ching _sound. The next one went too far, landing by the prizes. I sighed, picking up the last one. I am so gonna miss…stupid aim hasn't improved…at all.

Ikuto came up next to me, holding out his hand, "May I do the honors?" I handed him the little ring, "Be my guest." He threw it and it caught on the edge of the bottle, almost falling off but then staying on. I felt a smile split my face as I hugged him, "Whoo! You got it, you got it!" I ignored the fact that I was once again acting childish and peppy-ish, taking the little stuffed cats from the man, who was still rubbing his nose.

Joining the others, we walked around for a bit more. Riding a rollercoaster, in which my kitties were almost lost, and playing games, the day flew by.

"Think we should leave now?" Tadase asked, noticing the sun setting. Keiko looked around, "There's still a bunch of people around. The park does stay open all night, right?" Yuuki dug through her pockets, pulling out a little pamphlet, "Yeah. Ooh fireworks at midnight!" Suki stole the little paper, "Hmm…can we go watch one of these shows?"

XXX

"Ugh this is taking forever! Nya!" Yoru sat down on the floor. We were waiting in this line for about 10 minutes…

Finally, they started moving again and we were able to get inside the little auditorium. We sat in the first row, in the middle. Getting great seats thanks so Suki's mad dash inside. The room wasn't that big after all. Just a few rows of chairs and the low stage.

In front of us was a little stage and the chairs had little desk lights on the back, painted blue and green. I noticed the little camera attached to the side. Hmm…

"Hey, Ikuto, what exactly is this skit about?" I whispered. He shrugged as the lights dimmed. A spotlight appeared on the stage and the floor rose up. A man wearing a tux waved, "Hello, everybody!" Some people answered back. He smiled and looked around, "I'm gonna need some volunteers!" Oh joy…I sank back into my seat as everyone jumped up and yelled, "Me! Pick me!" Jeesh, why would anyone want to go up there…? In front of everybody…

"Okay, you two lovely kids, get up here!" He gestured in our direction. I looked around. Who'd he pick…? Oh…wait…Oh, what!? I pointed at myself and he nodded, "Yes, you! And your lovely partner beside you!" Why would he pick us!? I looked at the others suspiciously as Ikuto and I were dragged up onto the stage. Keiko was sleeping, Yoru was cheering along with Suki, Tadase was smiling up at us, and Yuuki and Matt were…snickering… It was YOU!

_**What? I just gave him a suggestion~ You know, with my mind~**_

Learn to sleep with one eye open, Koumori. I shot back, pouting as we stood next to the guy. Said guy waved some people from the back over and they put something on our heads. I left the little crown on my head and raised an eyebrow questionably as I saw the little tiara on Ikuto's head. His eye twitched, "Uh…aren't these…mixed up…?" The man stroked his invisible beard, "No, why would you say that, little princess?" The crowd laughed and I couldn't help but grin, covering my mouth with my hand when he looked at me.

The same person who brought the hats out pulled him over to a chair and sat him down. The man with the microphone put arm around my shoulder, "Okay, here's the story! Our princess has been captured by aliens!" Someone sauntered over to Ikuto, wearing a costume of that one-eyed green monster from Monster's Inc.

"And our brave prince," He continued, looking out at everyone, "Has to save her!" Heheh…her…

"By battling the alien with his," –HEY- ", magical sword!" He handed me a plastic sword. I examined it, "What's so magical about this thing?" He grinned wider, "Why, brave Prince, I'm glad you asked!" He pressed a little button the bottom and the thing lit up, almost blinding me with all the colors. I sweat dropped, "Oh." I looked over at where Ikuto was sitting, arms crossed. I looked at my feet, trying not to laugh at the annoyed expression on his face.

"So, let the battle begin!" The man pushed me towards them. I walked slowly over to where the little green monster was pretending to show off his muscles. What am I supposed to do…?

"Umm…ungaurd?" I held up the little sword like I was fencing. The boy in the costume grinned, turning his back to me and shaking his butt, making ungraceful noises.

"You little-!" I chased him around the stage, glowing plastic sword held above my head. I didn't pay much attention, but I noticed that the man was bringing more volunteers up. Not giving it any thought, I continued my chase.

Until I found myself cornered, a bunch of kids dressed up as little monsters closing in. The green one was in the front, laughing. Though I knew they were just people in costumes, I didn't like the fact that I was cornered. Calm down, Amu! It's just a play! A game!

I took a step back, holding the little sword like a spear. Throwing it at the ground, I used the momentum to carry me above their heads, landing on one knee. Leaving it behind to stick out of the floor, I brushed off the crown and hurried to Ikuto, "C-can we just leave?"

Ikuto stood, dropping the tiara, "What's wrong? Amu?" I took a shuddering breath, pulling him as I ran off the stage and out the room. Once outside, I stumbled into the empty bathroom, leaning against the wall. Ikuto silently shut the door, kneeling beside me, "Hey, Amu? You okay?" I pulled at my hair, shaking my head, "No, no I'm not! I actually started thinking like…like some sort of cornered animal! Thinking of ways to kill…just to escape…but it's just a bunch of kids in costumes!" Trembling, I tried not to cry. What the hell was wrong with me?!

I stiffened as arms wrapped around me. Ikuto rested his chin against my head, "It's okay, Amu. Everything'll be okay." I stared at his shoulder, refusing to cry in front of him again. You don't have the right to cry, you wanted this, after all… My eyes strayed to his neck where the pale skin hid the veins filled with blood.

"Bad thoughts." He flicked my forehead. "H-hey!" I blushed, crossing my arms, "Way to go and ruin the moment!" He smirked, pulling me onto his lap, "Hmm? You like our moments?" I huffed, "I-I didn't s-say that!"

"You implied it." He purred, nuzzling my neck.

Just then, the others decide to open the door. Tadase blushed, while Yoru just whistled, closing the door again. I blushed harder, jumping up and pulling the door open, "I-it's not what you think!" Keiko lifted an eyebrow, crossing her arms, "And what are we thinking?"

Ikuto appeared behind me, hugging my waist, "Yeah, Amu, what do you mean?"

Earlier incident forgotten, they laughed at my flushed face.

XXX  
"That was fun!" Suki yelled as we left the park, dark sky high above. I yawned, stretching my arms above my head, "And tiring." Keiko unlocked the car, "Does anybody else wanna drive? I think I might fall asleep." Tadase took the keys from her, "Sure thing." She climbed into the passenger seat, rubbing sleep from her eyes. Suki jumped in the back, Yuuki and Matt sitting next to her. Yoru dragged himself in, sitting in one of the middle seat. That left me and Ikuto to stand there. Whu-oh…

"Umm…there's only one seat left…" I muttered the obvious. On the way here, Yoru and Suki had decided to sit on the roof. Ikuto sat on the last seat, "It's not that much of a problem." I blushed as I was once again pulled onto his lap and the door closed behind me. Oh god…I was sitting on _the _Tsukiyomi Ikuto. …Wow that sounded wrong.

Fidgeting, I tried not to think of it too much. Once again, the keyword was _tried_. After we were about half way back to the suite, he grabbed my shoulders, hissing into my ear, "Will you _quit _that?" I squeaked, "Q-quit what?" He quickly let go of my shoulders, continuing in a quiet voice, "Believe it or not, even though I'm not human, I'm still a _guy_. And your moving around is very…_distracting_." I blushed, "O-oh…"

I tried to keep still, staring out the window to distract myself. Re-read that sentence and find that keyword if ya haven't already. I shifted slightly, trying to find a comfortable position. I stared at my hands on my knees.

As soon as the car parked in front of the hotel, we jumped out, taking deep breaths of the fresh air. Glad that's over…

TBC…

Suki: I'm sad… D8 I haven't written a cliffy in like…two or three chapters!

Yuuki: -.-'

Suki: …I wonder how many fluff chapters there'll be before I get onto find Nagi…?

Yuuki: Or the Rima thing'll continue

Suki: …after Nagi…or at the same time…cause she delivers IMPORTANT news…

Yuuki: is Amulet even gonna appear?

Suki: duh! But I'm not telling when~

Yuuki: …

Suki: fine, I'll tell YOU! But not YOU! –Points at readers- BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA!

Everyone: ARIGATOU!

(Final Word Count: 2238)


	6. News

Suki: Allo, readers~

Yuuki: meh

Suki: …It's so hard writing fluff…cause I REALLY wanna get on with the main plot…But if I start writing it…I won't wanna go back to the fluff…so I have to wait…RARGH! SO I have come to a compromise…the fluff shall continue…but I'll start bringing things into play~ ;D Hey, we might as well get it over with so that the fluff can take over!

Miki: chapter starts in Amu's POV, as per usual

Yoru: nya~

Chapter 6: News

_As soon as the car parked in front of the hotel, we jumped out, taking deep breaths of the fresh air. Glad that's over…_

XXX

I sat on the balcony, watching Ikuto and Yoru walk away. I wish they could've stayed…

Once they were gone, I sat there for a few seconds before standing, deciding to go in. Before I closed it, I felt a familiar aura nearby. Leaning out, I watched a crazed-looking old man slowly creep down the street.

Sitting on the railing, I watched. And watched…

He looked around, not noticing me and then swung the bag he was carrying onto the ground. Opening it, he pulled out an unconscious little girl. My eyes widened and I prepared to jump down but paused as the familiar aura came back, running full speed at the man.

Rima appeared out of nowhere, making a slashing motion with her hand. She landed a bit in front of the man, who just stared at her. A few seconds later, his head rolled off his neck, blood splattering everywhere. Rima flipped her hair from her face, casually wiping the blood from her fingers.

One of the Council actually helping a little human girl? Maybe they're not all that bad. I smiled, about to call out to her. And froze as she leaned down and bit into the girl's neck.

"You…what are you doing?! Get away from her!" I landed on the ground, running towards them. She looked up, not a trace of blood on her face nor in the girl.

"She's…she's dead…" I stared in horror as she shrugged, dropping the corpse. Rima watched silently as I stood there, "This old man tried to steal my dinner." I looked back at him, "But…you killed him!"

"He was only a stupid rouge, I care nothing of those low-lives."

"I can't believe you killed an innocent little girl!" I yelled, feeling my own pink aura crackle angrily. She stared back at me indifferently, "Age is but a number, and nothing is ever truly innocent." Truthfully, I _could _believe she would kill the kid. She's one of them, after all.

"Continue this, and I may just kill _you_." She whispered darkly, expression not giving anything away. "I'd like to see you try!" I yelled, not thinking at all. She took a step forward just as Tadase and Matt appeared in front of me, pushing me back.

"What are you doing here, Mashiro-san?" Tadase took a step back, forcing me to back up as well. She didn't even blink, "I do what I want, where I want and when I want."

"Is the Council here, too?" Matt asked, forcing me to take another step back. Rima hissed angrily, "Did you not hear me? I do what I want!" He narrowed his eyes, "Gozen isn't one to let his guards leave with no instructions and alone."

"Well Gozen is dead!" She yelled, then covered her mouth. Keiko pushed past us, "G-Gozen is…dead?" Rima looked down, bangs covering her eyes, "I've…said too much." She turned and ran away.

Which left us standing there. We went back inside.

"That can't be true!" Suki paced, nearly making a hole in the floor, "Who could've killed him!? He's hardly ever alone and the whole Council loves him because they get easy living!" Tadase ran a hand through the tangles in his hair, "Do you think someone turned traitor?"

"But hardly anyone's strong enough, even if they gang up, they're still outnumbered." Yuuki had her hand to her mouth, trying to solve the not-so-little mystery on our hands. Keiko leaned back, "Well, there could be someone who was strong enough to do it. And they had the perfect time, too."

"You don't mean Amulet?" Suki stopped pacing, "Sure she's reckless and crazy, but would she? Really?" I looked at Matt, "Hey, you're the closest thing we have to an Amulet Expert here, do you think she'd do it?" He shook his head, "It's not even a possibility."

"Or what about _him_?" Yuuki whispered, "_He'd _defiantly do it for no reason."

"Who's him?" I asked, sitting up. Tadase looked over at me, "We don't know his name, but he's like Amulet." Oh, great, cause the world needed two Amulets.

"It wasn't him either." Matt muttered, "Rima didn't tell us everything, you know…" I got up and sat on the floor next to him, "Did you hear something? See something?"

"Someone sitting on Gozen's chair…a little blond kid…a death order…Being chased for going against the new leader's rules…" He whispered, staring at the carpet, "That's all."

XXX

"It's so _hot_!" Keiko complained, lying on the floor in front of the fan we bought. She was wearing a tank top and shorts. Tadase sat on the couch, using a newspaper to fan himself, "Doesn't this place have air-conditioning?" Suki dragged herself in, "I…am melting…" She pretended to melt, falling to the floor. I leaned my head against the metal on the table, "Ah…cool~"

Yuuki and Matt opened the suite door, carrying a bag of ice, "Watch your step there's-"

He tripped.

"-…Suki there…Never mind." Yuuki sweat dropped as the ice spilled everywhere. Keiko barely turned her head in their direction, "It's like the flour incident all over again."

"I'd rather not get ice thrown at me, thank you." I closed my eyes, trying to forget about how horribly hot I was…Ugh, why _Florida_? Suki jumped up from the floor, "Turn on the TV!" Tadase lifted an eyebrow, "Huh?" She jumped over the couch and snatched up the remote, fumbling with it until it turned on. We all gathered around them, watching her type in a channel number.

A woman filled the screen, "Breaking news. We've just received a live clip of one of the year's strangest happenings. Just a movie? We don't think so." She blinked out and was replaced by an image of a church. Some teenagers were sitting in the parking lot. "Hey, Leah's taking a picture with her phone!"

"No, idiot, I'm filming." The image blurred and then a girl covered her face, "No! I don't wanna be in it!" The girl holding the phone snickered, "Okay, oka-"

Screaming. People ran out of the church, yelling like bloody murder. I froze as a familiar wind-chime laugh echoed and the window broke into pieces. The image froze and zoomed in to the window. A blurry image of Amulet appeared, someone right behind her, eyes glowing red.

"That's-…" Keiko trailed off, eyes glued to the screen as the image minimized, the reporter starting to blab on again. Matt frowned, "What? What is it?" Yuuki shook her head, "You don't wanna know…" Suki tossed the remote away and ran over to the little kitchen. I caught it before it hit the ground, "What now?" She dug through the cabinets before coming back and spreading a map over the table.

"That was…here." She pointed out a spot on the map, and it wasn't too far from where we were staying, "And by now they're probably…there." She pointed to another place. Yuuki pulled on her boots, "Well, then what are we waiting for? Amu, call your boyfriend."

"I-Ikuto is n-not my boyfriend!" My face flushed. Suki folded up the map and put it in her back pocket, "Okay, your husband, then!"

"He is not- oh never mind!" I slipped on some socks, dialing the number he'd given me yesterday into my cellphone quickly. Matt let out an exasperated sigh, "Will someone tell me what the hell is going on!?"

"Didn't you see the TV, idiot?!" Yuuki yelled, grabbing the keys. He glared at nothing in particular, "As a matter of fact, I didn't!" Tadase pulled out some sneakers, "We'll explain on the way."

"_Hello?_" Ikuto's voice answered the phone. I ran into my room, looking for my running shoes, "Hey, Ikuto? It's me. Could you get here like…pronto?" He didn't answer right away. After a pause, he finally responded, "_Sure._"

"Amu, c'mon, let's go! They won't stay in one place for long!" Keiko appeared at the door, "Um…are you going to be able to run in that skirt?" Oh yeah, I was wearing my old school uniform skirt…and a white button up shirt…

Suki yelled, "NO TIME! GET OVER HERE!"

"I guess we'll find out, huh?" She muttered as we ran after them, locking the door behind us.

Once outside, I found Ikuto and Yoru just running up to us. Just them. Again. I pushed back the suspicion that was starting to arise and gave them a quick hug before having to catch up, once again, to the others.

"Did you see that thing on the news?" I asked, not waiting for an answer, "Well, someone's caught Amulet in the action. She's _here_. And Nagehiko was right behind her."

TBC…

Suki: meh, I gave in! Yeah, so…I'm just gonna get the Finding Nagi part over…so I can sleep PEACEFULLY! Then we'll go back to fluff…and fluff shall dominate…for a while…then I'll get more into the plot~

Yuuki: We re-wrote this chapter like…millions of times

Suki: yeah…cause I kept on getting new ideas on what would happen with the Rima scene…and yeah…OH, BTW, the kids who were filming (we said one of 'em was named Leah) uh yeah…they're like…never gonna show up again…8) just felt like pointing out that I'm not planning on adding a BUNCH of major oc's to this! As of now, there will only be two… . dun kill me…I just hope this doesn't turn into one of those stories with too many oc's and dies~ DX _I'll_ die if it does!

Yuuki: review please~

Suki: and tell me if I'm rushing things too much! I tend to do that~ It's only the 6th chapie, ya know~ …Then again…I made Ikuto admit he was a vamp in like…chapter three…or four…or was it two…? AHH I FORGOT!

Everyone: ARIGATOU!

(Final Word Count: 1985)


	7. Fight

Suki: …So…

Yuuki: yeah…

Suki: well…

Yoru: …awkward~

Lizy: it is NEVER awkward until someone says it is! *glare* Yoru

Yoru: …nya…

Suki: anyways~ TODAY IS IKUTO'S B-DAY! 8D and~ it's ALSO Matt's birthday! Wish him happiness and whatnot in your reviews so we can print them out and EMBARRAS HIM, please? *puppy eyes*

Chapter 7: Fight

"_Did you see that thing on the news?" I asked, not waiting for an answer, "Well, someone's caught Amulet in action. She's here. And Nagehiko was right behind her."_

They glanced at each other then back at me, surprise not really on their faces. I narrowed my eyes, "What? No reaction? Not even a blink?" Yoru grinned sheepishly, "Actually, we already knew she was here…Didn't you guys hear about the Council nya?"

"That Gozen is dead?" We came to a crowded street and jumped over the cars, landing on the other side and running before anyone had the chance to get a good look at us. Ikuto raised an eyebrow, "He's not dead. Where'd you hear that?"

"I had a little run in with Mashiro Rima." I grimaced, "A very…unpleasant meeting." I almost missed the turn since I wasn't used to running this fast and came to a skidding halt before doubling back. Catching up again, Ikuto sighed, "She's been exaggerating again, I see. Gozen isn't actually dead…he's just hiding."

"Did you know he was actually a little kid nya?" Yoru shook his head in disapproval, "All this time, we've been scared of a little kid nya!"

"A very old little kid." Ikuto muttered, "He's hiding because someone's kind of…taken over, you could call it. They've put a death order out. Everybody has to search and kill him if they find him. Anybody who disobeys orders is killed."

"Since the Council is located in Japan, most have fled nya." Yoru continued for him, "Mashiro Rima, Dia-"  
"Dia?!"

"Yeah nya." He frowned, "She was almost caught though nya. Dad's taking care of her until she gets better."

We stopped, standing in front of an abandoned lot. There was nothing and no one around. I kicked some dust on the pavement, "Now what?" It might've been a parking lot…but nobody came anymore.

Suki waved at us to be quiet, "We wait." Yuuki crouched down, peeking out from between some trash cans, "How long?" Suki climbed onto an old dumpster, "Just a minute or so…they'll be here soon."

Ikuto frowned, stepping out, "Are you sure?"

"Get back, they'll see you!" She hissed, waving him back. He didn't move, just looking back and forth, "I don't think they're coming here."

"I _saw _them come here!" She pouted, upset someone would doubt her visions. He turned to look at us, "What did you see? _Exactly_?"

"An abandoned space, lots of dust, a bit windy," She gestured around, "And the street sign, too. I'm positive it was _here_."

"Ah." He looked up, staring at the sky, "…It's not windy, at all."

"Well…" She looked around, "Maybe it'll pick up soon." I watched as he jumped onto the dumpster then onto a windowsill, slowly making his way up to the roof of a tall building, "It'll be slightly windier up there." Yoru followed without saying anything. I stepped back then took a running start to follow as the others shared an unsure glance. Finally, I made it to the top and hooked my arm over the edge. Ah, I was beginning to think I'd never get he-

"AH!" I lost my footing and slipped, falling. Ikuto grabbed my arm just as I was about to fall out of reach and pulled me up. I climbed over the edge, sitting on the ground, "Oh god, I thought I was gonna die!" Ikuto looked at me worriedly. I lifted an eyebrow, "What?" He blinked, then smirked, "Even with your little vampire abilities, you're still as clumsy as ever." I huffed, crossing my arms, "Oh, shut up!"

"Oof." Matt landed beside us, stumbling forward. Yuuki walked along the edge of the building, perfectly balanced as she watched Keiko climb up, "You seem to be having more problems with your blindness lately."

"Maybe he's getting old!" Suki piped up as she jumped onto the roof. He laughed sarcastically, "Ha, ha, so funny. I'm only one year older than you, ya know."

"And many more than me." Keiko hopped up, "You shouldn't stand up there, you might fall." Yuuki shrugged, "I'm fine." Tadase came up, looking around, "Should we…I dunno…hide?" Yoru sat up, "Too late nya." We spun around as we heard a silent tap. Amulet landed softly on the roof, black hair blowing around her. She wore black boots that reached her knees, jeans tucked into them, and a red Chinese-styled shirt that was tight and unbuttoned at the top. She narrowed her eyes at us, running a hand through her hair, "Well, you've lied to me, child." Nagehiko appeared behind her, lunging and missing, "I've not lied about anything!" He froze when he saw us, red eyes widening.

"Ah." Amulet grinned, "Oh well, I win either way. Hello, Tsukiyomi child." She looked at each of us and disappeared. I gasped as she reappeared right in front of me, "Look at you! Oh, if only I had found you sooner." She sighed in disappointment, "I would have loved to fight a newborn of your talent and sane mind. I know! Let's fight now! It must have only been a few months since you've changed, yes? Your eyes still have a tint of red in them!" She clapped her hands in excitement, "Hinamori Amu, just the simple fact that you chose to become an immortal proves you are stronger than your Grandmother!"

She took a step back as Ikuto appeared between us, a protective arm pushing me back. Amulet laughed her wind-chime laugh, red aura crackling wildly, "Oh, you just made a vital mistake, Tsukiyomi child." We looked around as she disappeared again. I chewed on my lip, even with great vision, we can't see her…not even a blur…

I yelped as a hand grabbed my hair, yanking me back. A slap of wind hit me and then I was standing on a different roof. Amulet standing with a hand on her hip, "So, shall we begin? Show me what ability you have, child." I gritted my teeth, not finding the others anywhere near us. Where the hell did she take me?

I jumped back as her hand slashed the air where I had just stood, "H-hey!"

"You're fast." She giggled, tracing a circle in the air. I ducked down as a gunshot echoed. I opened one eye and saw her start to trace another circle. But there were no bullets, so what was that…?

Leaping to the side, I watched a shot of air slide past me. So it was just air? Amulet raised her hand and traced yet another circle. When the shot echoed, I ran forward, only to go flying back as the air hit my chest.

My back hit the floor and I rolled, stopping close to the edge of the building. I coughed, feeling winded.

"What a pity."

I looked up, Amulet blocking out the sun. She shook her head in disapproval, "I thought this fight would be more interesting. You do know even air at that speed is deadly? If that had hit your neck, you'd be dead. Oh well, you're not a worthy opponent." She pushed me with her foot until I felt my foot slide off the roof. I propped myself onto my elbows and gasped, seeing the drop.

"Goodbye, Hinamori Amu. Say hello to your grandmother for me." I braced myself, waiting to feel the wind rushing by and then the hard floor.

"Amulet."

I peeked through my fingers as the low voice called out. A man stood on the roof, short black hair swaying around in the breeze. The tips were dyed red, hopefully from paint and not blood. He grinned, red eyes closing, "I come all the way here just to find you've been reduced to a bully?" I looked up at her. Her back was turned to me and the red ribbon in her hair kept flapping about.

I should have taken this chance to escape. But I didn't think of that at the time.

"You know," She gestured to me, "I was right in the middle of something here, Shii. And if we all reside to America, the Council will simply follow us." He lifted an eyebrow, "Since when do they pose a threat to us? And here I thought you'd be glad to see me."

Amulet took a quick glance at me before walking away, "Hmm…maybe you'll improve by our next meeting." Then they were gone.

I crawled away from the edge, sitting with my legs crossed.

That was…unexpected. I sighed, deciding to just forget about it and focus on finding my way back to the others. I looked around, searching for anything familiar. Where am I…? Standing up, I climbed onto the railing and cupped my hands around my eyes. I couldn't be too far from where they are, could I? I frowned, what if they had already left? They wouldn't…Would they? I chewed on my lip before climbing down the side of the building, jumping the last bit and tripping. My frowned deepened, seeing the tears in my clothes.

On my own, I wandered.

TBC…

Suki: I just noticed that FanFiction took away all the dividers D8 And the POV changes so we'll be going back and fixing that…sometime… . ANYWAYS! So, remember that rant I had not so long ago? Well, guess what: THE BITCH IS BACK!

Yuuki: She said in a PM (She refuses to actually review) that at least we don't have shonen-ai in this one…but we'd better not put any up after they reunite with Nagehiko. Cause she hates him and she also hates Matt for some reason… that I won't say…. …

Suki: CAUSE HE REJECTED HER! XP Bitch, though I may tend to say things about our Matt, the truth is…HE DOESN'T LIKE SLUTS SO DEAL WITH IT! IT'S BEEN ALMOST A FREAKING YEAR! (Yes, we know who you are…in REAL LIFE! Cuz you sit in front of me in Math)

Yuuki: So Suki, being Suki, has come up with something to annoy her…

Suki: Yes, I wrote a mini yaoi…or shonen ai…whatever…Take note: this doesn't affect the real story in any way and never really happened to them! It's an AU of our Shugo Chara AU! Sometime between the end of KN and the beginning of KI is where this does yet doesn't take place! Don't like boyXboy love, dun read it! If ya do, pretend you never did when you read KI, kay? Also, this wasn't planned. We logged in to update, and found that message so we're making this up as we go along XP Yeah… NagehikoXMatt…hmm…weird…it's okay if ya hate it, this is just for the Bitch, like we said

XXXNORMAL POV

"A little to the right!" Suki yelled, leaning out her bedroom window. Nagehiko pressed his back against the huge rock, pushing on the ground with his feet so hard that there were little foot-shaped holes left there.

"Too far! To the left!" Suki giggled, and started singing, "To the left! To the left! Everything ya own in a box to the left! To-"

"Remind me why you absolutely _need_ to see a boulder outside your window?" He interrupted, trying to pull it but failing to get a good grip. Matt stood on top of the boulder, "Cause she's Suki." Amu poked her head out the door, "What're you guys doing?" Nagehiko sighed, sitting on the floor while Matt jumped down, voice laced with sarcasm, "Making out. What does it _look _like we're doing?"

"I was just asking." She crossed her arms and marched over to where Tadase was trying to save the garden that was abused by the last owners. Tadase looked up as walked over and offered two packs of seeds, "Which ones?" She examined them closely, "Tulips…and Nadeshikos…" Suki jumped down from her window, running over, "Ooh! What colors?"

"The tulips are yellowish gold and the Nadeshikos are pinkish purple and white." Amu handed her the little packets of seeds. Suki grinned, "Let's plant them both, then? We don't have to use all the seeds, right?"

Nagehiko got up and dusted off his hands, "You could divide the garden in two." The girls handed back the packets and Tadase set out to work, "Okay, both of them then! We can make tea with the Nadeshikos if we pick them before it gets cold, too." Keiko opened the door, "But we don't want to waste this little bottle Dia gave us. Anyways, you can do that tomorrow. Go unpack!"

"Yes, mother." They droned, giggling at her annoyed expression.

Boulder forgotten, they marched back inside, following Keiko in a straight line and pretending to be ducklings.

Each of them going to unpack their things, Keiko and Yuuki stayed to try and set up the TV.

"Ah, I'm all sweaty." Nagehiko stared at his reflection in the mirror. Matt sat on the other bed, "You look fine to me."

"Oh, thanks- hey!" He crossed his arms while the other snickered. He was about to march into the bathroom when he was called back.

"Don't worry, Nagi-tan, it's not like I can see you anyway."

"Yeah, but it's still strange." Nagehiko sighed and opened up his bag, taking out some clean clothes, "Aren't you going to unpack?"

"Already did." He gestured to the little drawer filled with his things, "I don't have much, ya know, Nagi-tan." Nagehiko shrugged out of his clothes, pulling on the clean ones, "I know, I know, Matt_-tan_." He teased, laughing at the small blush that crept onto the other's face.

"A-anyways…" Matt coughed, "I was just thinking-"

"Oh, joy."

"-about that time we checked into that motel."

"We've checked into many motels. And hotels, libraries, subways, schools, bars…"

"The one where you had to pretend to be a girl," –grin- ", and we had to trick you into coming inside."

"_Thank you_ for reminding me." Nagehiko shot him a glare, which of course went unseen, and continued to search his bag for a brush. Matt titled his head to the side innocently, "Heh, and when I said you liked m-"

"I remember, I remember!" Nagehiko silently thanked God or whatever heavenly figure there was out there, that his friend was blind and couldn't see the blush that was glued to his face, "W-why bring that up?" The other snickered, "Nagehiko?"

"W-what?"

"What did you think I was gonna say?" He continued with trying not to burst out laughing, "Cause I was actually gonna say Mashiro Rima."

Dead silence.

Nagehiko gulped, but his voice still came out a little squeak, "M-Mashiro R-Rim-ma…?"

"Yeah, so I'm curious, Nagi-tan…Who _did _you think I was gonna say?"

"B-but you h-heard…?"

"Too crowded to listen to _anyone_."

"B-but now…"

"I'd rather not invade _everyone's_ privacy all the time."

"…" The boy slowly ran the brush through his hair, wincing when he found a tangle, "Tch…" So absorbed in the tangle, he jumped slightly, surprised, as the brush was taken out of his hand and carefully pulled through the tangled locks of his hair.

"Jeesh, your hair's long." Matt muttered, now sitting behind him. Nagehiko looked down at his hands on his lap, "Maybe I should just cut it…"

"Nah, I like you this way. Just wish I could actually see you…" He pulled a stray strand of hair behind the other's ear, hand lingering.

"If I looked in a mirror you could see me seeing me look in a mirror…Not that there's much to look at."

"No, I wanna see you with _my own _eyes…" He pulled roughly on the brush, causing the other to fall back.

"What the hell?! That hurt!" Nagehiko rubbed his head, then tried to get up, only to freeze as arms wrapped around his waist. Matt buried his face in his hair, breathing softly on his neck, "I'm afraid…that you'll disappear, consumed completely by revenge...Promise me you won't?" He stayed silent, closing his eyes, then whispered, "Sorry...." _but I can't afford to make that promise. Even if I want to._

XXX

Suki: TINY BIT OF FLUFFINESS~ the thing we first wrote is the actual yaoi…with…yeeeah…"happy time" as my cousin calls it… . but that is the version you SHALL NEVER SEE! Cause then we have to change the rating to M and since it's not even part of the actual story, it'd just be a waste D8

Yuuki: nya~

Suki: And another thing you shall never see, Yuuki drew little parts of this one and the other version into a mini manga type thing~ So we stuffed all that in the Bitch's locker XD it was hilarious! Oh, but before that, we showed it to Matt, saying it was his B-day present (he refuses to accept any gifts from us D8 or anybody) and aw~ XD

Yuuki: we've scarred the poor child~ X3

Suki: review please! XDDDDDDD

Everyone: ARIGATOU!

(Final Word Count: 2836)


	8. Chase

Suki: we have a little announcement! Please read the little thing we put at the very bottom! If you don't, you might get confused or come and kill us!

Yoru: It's VERY IMPORTANT THAT YOU DO! NYA!

Yuuki: nya~

Chapter 8: Chase

_On my own, I wandered._

XXXNORMAL POV

"People are staring." Keiko whispered, sending a quick glance behind her to make sure the others had heard. Beside her, Suki scanned the crowds casually, "No sign of Amulet though."

"Not any Council either." Yoru whispered, too fast and low to be heard by anyone else, walking a few feet behind them. "Will you guys help me? I can't see where I'm going!" Matt hissed, catching up with Yoru. Yoru glanced at the sleeping figure on the other's back, "Let's just hope he doesn't wake up soon."

"Let's just hope the police don't catch up." Keiko shot back, running a hand through her hair and secretly pointing at the uniformed men though the sliver strands. Suki sighed, "And they chase _us _why?" The girl dropped her hand to her side, "Because we look like runaway kids that got into a fight."

The four fell silent, discreetly examining their appearances. Dirt covered them from head to toe, clothes torn, scratches, cuts, and bruises spread across their skin. Yoru's cheek was starting to swell up, slashes adorning his neck and hands. Keiko had a scratch right bellow her eye, blood falling like red tears. Suki walked with a limp, holding her wrist with a bloody hand. Matt had a scratch across his forehead, blood sliding down his cheek and neck. Not to mention he was carrying an unconscious Nagehiko.

What a sight.

Yoru rubbed the back of his head, "Oh, right. Eheh nya." Suki slowed down to walk beside them, "We've got company." They took a glance around before spotting a police car parking a few feet in front of them. "Damn." Keiko muttered, trying to find another path, only to see more officers encircling them, unknown to the pedestrians.

"What should we do nya?" Yoru whispered, trying not to let those around them know that they'd noticed they were being followed. She headed towards the fountain, "Let me do the talking. They ask you something, stay quiet. Unless I say it's okay, then just go along with whatever story I tell them."

Reaching the white marbled fountain, Suki and Yoru sat down, Keiko assuming a relaxed posture in front of them. Matt stood behind her, holding on to the sleeping boy on his back.

Realizing they'd been find out, the police sauntered, slightly embarrassed, over to the group. The people around slowly backed away, some staying to watch from the sidelines. They all halted as one stood right in front of them, a safe distance away as he checked a piece of paper then looked back at them, "Hello, kids."

No one replied, just continued staring at him as if saying 'get on with it, don't waste our time'. He took a cautious step forward, "Is something wrong? We want to help."

"Well gentlemen," Keiko crossed her arms, noticing the officers reaching for their pockets at their slightest movements, "We don't want to make a scene, so if you'll just let us go, that'll be great." He looked past her to where the others were standing, "Okay, kids, come and get in the car. You're right, we don't want a scene."

"Run on three." She whispered, too soft for the police to hear. Three seconds later, they turned and ran across the fountain, ignoring the water that splashed up, and through the bushes. Cars with wailing sirens right at their heels.

XXXXXX

"We're going in circles!" Tadase yelled, skidding to a halt. Ikuto stopped running, looking around, "He's right. You sure this is the right way?" Yuuki crossed her arms, looking away, "You doubt my ability?"

"No. I doubt you're using it." Ikuto sighed, "If you're not going to help, just go catch up with the others." She bit her lip, "…Okay, fine!" She disappeared down the path, leaving the two boys to search for their friend alone.

After a few minutes, they found themselves back at the abandoned building they'd started from. Tadase rubbed a scratch on his cheek, "We've checked all the buildings in the area…They could be long gone by now-…" He let out a squeak, eyes wide as the other's fist flew past his head, smashing into the wall. Ikuto glared hard, "Don't you _ever _say we've lost Amu for good again, got it?" The blond nodded quickly, staring in disbelief at the crumbling wall behind him.

The older boy backed up, turning away and walking quietly in a seemingly random direction. That left Tadase to follow silently behind, touching the little strands of hair that had been neatly cut just a moment ago.

The area was quiet, not a sound except of the occasional rat. Until a sudden screech rang out. The two boys glanced at each other before quickening their pace and heading for the noise.

In another abandoned lot, a rouge was screaming in pain, rolling on the floor and clutching their severed arm. Tadase winced, seeing the bone sticking out of their ankle.

A girl with blonde hair strode over and casually stepped on his neck, crushing the bones and watching as the life drained from him. When the rouge was completely still, she stepped back and turned to them. Her hair was up in a pony tail, still reaching her waist, and blood red eyes. She lifted a delicate eyebrow, "Sorry, was this your prey?" Rima jumped down from a building, landing softly next to the girl, "No, this guy was ours." Another girl followed her, long white-ish hair falling around her like a curtain. She blew it out of her face, "Well, he's not exactly _prey_."

"Where is Amulet?" Ikuto asked, no, demanded. Rima huffed, "Another one? How did Amulet get so many avengers anyway?"

"We're not out for revenge," Tadase explained, "We just…need to speak with her."

"Oh, of _course_! Do you think you're the only ones who wanted to have a little 'talk' with her?" The white-haired girl shook her head disapprovingly, "Anyways, we saw her a little while ago. She was walking with _him_. She was heading that direction." She gestured towards town.

"Thank y- Ikuto-nii-san! Wait!" Tadase ran after the retreating back, dust being kicked up into his eyes.

The girls shared a glance before shrugging. Rima looked down at the corpse, "Chika, go open that dumpster up." The white-haired girl nodded, "Hai!"

"ShikiTi, help me carry this thing." Rima picked up the body by a leg, grimacing. The other girl dragged his arm along indifferently.

XXXXXX

"Let me go!"

"Stop it!"

"I said LET ME GO!"

"We're gonna fall!"

"Then put me DOWN!"

"There's no room for more people!"

"I don't care! Just let me g- AHH!"

"Stop fooling around." Suki called down to them, running across the bridge railing. Keiko ran after her, pausing to look down at the two boys, "I _told _you we should have hit him harder." Yoru snickered, watching from the other side. Cars zoomed by, the passengers looking at them like they were suicidal. Then again, not many people find standing on the thin edges of bridges filled with traffic fun. Yuuki tapped her foot impatiently, waiting for Keiko to move so she could run across, "Any day now." The girl jumped down from the rails, standing next to the others as she ran across.

Down in the water, Matt and Nagehiko reached shore. As soon as they were on land, they glared at each other.

"I _told _you not to move so much!"

"No, I told _you _to let me go!"

"If I'd let you go, then you would've fell in the water anyways!"

"If I'd stopped struggling then-…we wouldn't…have fallen in the water…"

"I rest my case."  
"If you hadn't come looking for me, none of this would've happened!"

"Oh, so you just wanted us to stand by as you killed yourself!?"

"I wouldn't have killed myself!"

"No, Amulet would have!"

"Nu-uh!"

"Ya-huh!"

"Girls, girls." Yoru tsked, "No fighting please nya." Keiko watched in amusement, "They remind me of someone….Hmm…There were two little boys in the class, they were brothers." Suki snickered, "Heh, you know who they remind _me_ of?" Yuuki crossed her arms, "I'm not sure I want to know…"

"A mar-" She was cut off as a splash of water soaked her. "Oi!"

"We should get going." Yuuki gestured to the police cars approaching the bridge.

XXXAMU'S POV

My feet hurt…. Just as the thought passed through my mind, my legs buckled. I fought to keep my eyes opened, sprawled across the cold ground. The sun was setting, casting the sky on fire. I whimpered, too tired to move away from the harsh light and into the cool dark. As I was swept into oblivion, I smiled thankfully as a figure blocked out the heat.

TBC…

Suki: Well, then…

Yuuki: Before we forget and ruin the whole point of this, here's our little announcement.

Suki: okay, we're not going to be updating for a while. I'm not sure until when, so please don't ask for a specific date. It might just be a week, or a few weeks, maybe a month. Possibly many months. But defiantly not a whole year.

Yuuki: what we're saying is Kyuuketsuki Ichigo is on hiatus, kay?

Suki: the reason is mostly just because of school. Exams are gonna start soon, and there's a bunch of stuff happening.

Yuuki: Like this big 200 point project that we started. It's spanned over a few months, but we wanna get at least half of it done, and it's an individual project, so both of us have to gather materials, do research and whatnot.

Suki: PLUS there's a trip to Quebec in February for us freshmen, and we have a bunch of stupid worksheets attacking us

Yuuki: But you guys can't really be angry at us, because the sequel came out quickly, when we could have waited a long while to even work on it.

Suki: yeah so…a bunch of other school and personal things going on, but we'll see if we can get in another chapter or two sometime…and we promise not to completely abandon this story…and there will be chapters up before the end of school. But in the last two months of the school year we'll probably take another break for THOSE exams and whatnot.

Yuuki: we're thinking of getting one more chapter up for December, maybe two, and then January _should _be a little more open for us, so maybe we'll get to the fluff adventures by then…maybe not…

Suki: but again, February should probably slip by with possibly no chapters at all…

Yuuki: so thinking about it, we might be back to normal updating in March, if not, then April.

Suki: again….BUT! Sometime in May shall start our OTHER break for end of the year exams, June is our last month, so there's all this junk that happens…

Yuuki: By the end of June, we'll be back to normal updating for the whole summer, unless we take a vacation somewhere…but I'll bring my laptop along if I do so I can type up the stuff Suki e-mails me (meaning her version of the chapter…)

Suki: yeeeah…Or we can try on my style! Raise your hand if you agree!

*crickets chirp*

Suki: …or not…eheh….review please!

Everyone: ARIGATOU!

(Final Word Count: 1917)


	9. Dance

Suki: so….here's a long chapie ;9

Yuuki: yup~

Chapter 9: Dance

_The sun was setting, casting the sky on fire. I whimpered, too tired to move away from the harsh light and into the cool dark. As I was swept into oblivion, I smiled thankfully as a figure blocked out the heat._

XXXIKUTO'S POV

Amu smiled up at me before she went limp, eyes fluttering closed.

Sun burning behind me, I carefully picked her up, just as Tadase caught up. He leaned against the wall, breathing heavily, "You…how can you run so fast? It's not- Nii-san!? What're you doing!?" I ignored him, tasting the bitter liquid slide down my throat.

I pulled away, licking drops of blood from my lips, "Poison."

"E-excuse me?!" His voice squeaked. I sighed, "I said, poison. What did you think I was doing? Don't answer that; I don't want to know."

XXXNORMAL POV

Tadase gulped, wondering what Ikuto would actually do if he'd voiced his thoughts out loud. He shivered, deciding it was best not to think about it.

Ikuto turned to look at him, confusion spreading on his face, "Huh? Did you say something?"

"N-no!" Tadase laughed nervously, wondering if he'd been thinking out loud after all. The other stared at him before shrugging, turning away, "Okay, well, let's get home….Which direction is 'home', by the way?" The blond blinked, "Uh…in Japan?"

"I meant where are you staying? You're not living in a dumpster, right?"

"…" He turned in a slow circle, realizing something he hadn't noticed before: He had no idea where they were. Ikuto sweat dropped, not having to turn around to know what the boy was doing. Shutting his eyes, a vein pulsed on his forehead, "Ne, Tadase…we're not lost, are we?"

"…"

"Tadase?"

"We're not..._lost_, exactly…"

_"Tada__se_?"

"Okay, fine! We're lost! L-O-S-T, lost!"

XXX

"HAHAHA!" Suki laughed, spinning around in the spinning doors of a building. A police officer was stuck right behind her, cursing the glass in front of him as he was forced to try and keep pace with the girl.

Inside said building, Keiko and Yuuki watched, eyes becoming T's and chibi taking over the whole scene. Yoru stood next to them, yawning and scratching at the cut on his face. A big question mark floated above Matt's head, "What? What's she doing?"

Nagehiko sat at their feet, wrists and ankles tied together and rope wrapped around his body. He remained silent, though mentally he was crushing the people around him like twigs.

The people outside couldn't get in because the only door to the building was currently being spun around and around….and around…and around…and…you get the point.

"So…we're trapped in here till Suki gets tired nya?" Yoru asked. Keiko and Yuuki nodded, T eyes watching the blond continue to laugh. He looked at the stair case in the corner, "Window?"

"Window." The girls muttered, marching chibily up the stairs. The others followed, Matt dragging along Nagehiko, and leaving Suki to spin like crazy. Matt's question mark followed them upstairs and suddenly Yoru stopped walking, "Hey, guys, what's up with the question mark?"

"Question mark?" Other question marks joined it as little fox ears appeared on the boy's head, fox tail following soon after.

"Eep?" Yuuki tried to poke the question mark, hand going right through it. A grin spread on Yoru's head, "Way to make an entrance, Miki nya!"

Miki appeared from a seemingly normal wall, sticking her tongue out, "Darn, I was caught." Yuuki poked the wall, then began poking the newcomer repeatedly. Keiko sweat dropped, "Yuuki, hun, she's real."

"That's just what she _wants _you to think!" The girl hissed, before a blush covered her face and she backed away, "Um…I mean…Let's get going!"

They continued up the stairs, Yoru walking beside Miki. He grinned, "You're getting better at that nya." She smiled as well, "Hmm, not so bad yourself. By the way, found Ikuto yet?" He sighed, "Couldn't keep up. Cats are only so fast, ya know nya."

A few steps in front of them, Nagehiko silently flexed his fingers, feeling the rope loosen slightly.

XXX

"We're going in circles!"

"That's what I've been _trying _to tell you."

"You said no such thing, Nii-san!"

"You shouldn't use that tone with your Nii-san, kiddy king."

"H-huh?! I'm only half a century younger than- hey! Don't walk away from me when I'm talking! Get back here! Nii-san!" Tadase ran after Ikuto, who had quickened his pace.

Music flowed through the air, slicing the silence in half. Ikuto walked in that direction, leaving the other to simply follow.

Arriving, the older boy slowed down, letting Tadase catch up. It was a house similar to the one the Tsukiyomis had in Japan, only a bit smaller. The walls were black, and one wouldn't notice it unless they were looking closely. Coming to the front of the house, they entered and the music stopped. Kukai looked away from the piano keys, raising an eyebrow, "Hinamori and Hotori? Ikuto, where's Yoru?"

Utau kept her back to them, leaning against the piano, "You didn't leave him alone, did you? Who knows what kind of trouble he'll get himself into?"

"He'll be fine." Ikuto muttered, eyes lowering to the floor as he walked past her, carrying Amu to the couch. Tadase stood awkwardly in the doorway, wondering what he should do.

Kukai stood up, waving him over, "C'mon, don't just stand there." He put his fingers to his lips in a shushing gesture as Utau turned around.

Tadase's eyes widened for a fraction of a second before he smiled warmly, "Hello, Utau-san." She narrowed her eyes, "It's okay, you can stare. I don't care anymore, it'll go away soon anyways." He laughed nervously, "Eto…what do you mean?"

"You know exactly what I mean." She muttered, sighing. A long red gash ran along her face, from below her eye to the base of her neck. Kukai looked back at the piano, returning to the song he'd previously been playing.

"Umm…I didn't know you played the piano." Tadase scratched his cheek, trying to ignore the glare Utau kept fixed on him. What? Did she _want _him to comment on the injury?

Pale hands skillfully flew across the keys, no sheet music anywhere to be found, as he just shrugged, "Let's see…number 34."

"Number 34?"

"Well, my parents had a list of stuff they wanted me and my brothers to learn. We had a family friend who played. I don't remember all of the list but…" He trailed off, the song slowing down. Utau leaned against the piano again, "And it's not like there's no time to do anything." Souko entered the room, giggling, "Remember the time Yoru persuaded you guys to make a little band?"

Kukai groaned, "Oh yes. Perfectly, he even got a bunch of cats to learn Jingle Bells." Her giggles became a laugh, "And one of them kept following Ikuto around!" Utau laughed as well, "And she almost ate his violin!"

"And Miki made those cute little outfits for you all!"

"I glowed, people. _Glowed_." Kukai crossed his arms, "Ah…her neon phase."

Tadase looked down at the keys, slowly pressing down a random key. A quiet, deep note sounded, just as Amu's eyes opened.

XXX

"Wait, what about Suki?" Yuuki asked, standing in front of the window.

"What _about _Suki?" Suki blinked. They turned to look at her. Keiko scratched her cheek, "Wait, if you're here…then who's holding the police back…?"

Footsteps pounded on the stairs, drawing nearer and nearer. Yoru jumped off the window sill, Miki and Yuuki quickly following. Matt dragged Nagehiko over and jumped out as well, Suki locking the door before she and Keiko leapt out, landing softly beside the others.

The seven of them snuck past the cars waiting outside and safely made it to a good distance away. Miki looked at the watch on her wrist, "Hey, we should get home."

"Yeah." Yuuki looked down at what used to be clothes, "We _need_ to change."

"But we can't go back to the hotel looking like this." Matt muttered, wincing at the girl's glare. She crossed her arms, "Oh yeah? Then what do you suggest we do, Mr. Fox? Go in to a store and buy some clothes? We don't have money on us right now _and _even if we did, the people working there'd probably think we stole it."

Yoru's eyebrow twitched, "Nya…Why don't you just come with us? You can borrow some of our clothes nya…" Miki clapped, "Then it's decided! I get to make pretty little outfits for everyone!"

Keiko sweat dropped, "When was _that _decided, exactly?" Suki grinned, "Well, it's not like we have much of a choice! And Miki's designs are nice!"

"Oh they're better than nice!" Miki smirked, eyes becoming little stars, "Heheh…"

Nagehiko gave the ropes on his hands another tug and tried to keep the satisfaction off his face as they released their hold. Of course, it was hard to not think about it. He frowned, wondering why the other hadn't said anything yet. He must have heard it by now, right?

XXXAMU'S POV

I opened my eyes just a bit to see the dim light float in through the open door. I took a deep breath and began to cough, sitting up too quickly and getting a massive headache.

A hand rubbed my back, comforting words whispering into my ear. Head and neck throbbing, I looked at Ikuto. I blinked, seeing a soft red tinge in the aura around him.

"Amu?" He brushed hair away from my face, "Something wrong?"

"No…" I muttered, clearing my throat and wincing, "But I have the worst headache ever and my head might just fall of my shoulders." He dropped his hand and looked down, "Oh…" I raised an eyebrow, "Hmm?"

"Uh…that's my fault…sort of." He pointed to my neck, "I had to get the poison out somehow."

"Poison?"

"Uh, yeah…from Amulet?"

"Amulet…oh yeah…That air bullet thing…Wait, you drank it?!"

"…Sort of…"

"Tell me you didn't swallow it!"

"I didn't swallow it…"

"Oh…really?"

"…on purpose."

"Ikuto!"

"I'm sorry; Tadase thought I was trying to kill you."

"So you _swallow poison_?!"

"…"

"You really _are_ an idiot, you know that?"

"…But I'm _your _idiot."

"Don't give me that speech again!"

"…Amu-chan is scary." Ikuto looked up through his lashes, lips pouting slightly. A blush crept onto my cheeks, "O-oi, don't look at me like that!"

"Like what?"

"L-like that! You did that in the science room back at Seiyo, too!" I put a hand over my chest, hoping maybe that would keep my heart from popping out. His lip twitched into a smirk, "You remember that?"

"I remember _everything_." I poked his forehead, "What? You think I can't remember stuff?" His smirk grew, "Oh, you know what _I _remember?"

"What?"

"You singing a song in the shower about innocence and thinking of many inappropriate things, Amu-koi." He cooed, chuckling at the blush on my face that seemed to grow bigger.

"W-what!? That's not true!"

"Nu-uh-uh! There's no use denying it, Amu-koi. You, love, are a pervert." He stated matter-of-factly, smirk plastered on his mouth.

"I am NOT a p-"

"AWW!"

I was interrupted as Souko-san started jumping up and down, giggling madly, "Oops, don't mind me, you two!" I thought I heard her whisper 'young love birds' at the end but wasn't sure. All I was sure of was that I was never going to hear the end of this. I looked over at Kukai as piano music started playing, the tune one that you would see people slow dancing to.

Aruto-san appeared from the stairs and swept Souko-san into the song, laughing, "Hmm, it's been a long time since you've touched a piano."

Kukai turned to them for a brief second, sticking out his tongue and turning back to the keys, "It's been a long time since we've _had _a piano, mind you." Souko giggled for the nth time since I'd woken up, "And it's been even longer since we've had a family dance."

There was a tap on my shoulder and I stared as Ikuto bowed slightly, holding out his hand while that smirk never left his lips, "Care to dance?" My blush returned as he pulled me off the couch, "H-huh? I c-can't dance!" Oh, many have tried…and all have failed, at teaching me to do so. Even the teachers at that dance camp had eventually given up.

"You'll be fine, I can't dance either." He placed one of my hands on his shoulder, holding the other and barely touching my waist with his other. I gulped, looking down as our feet moved. I pouted, "Liar, if you can't dance, the Statue of Liberty isn't green."

"Actually it was originally bronze, like an American penny." He spun me in a slow circle, easily leading. I stared down at my sneakers again, focusing on not stepping on his feet. Of course, I failed.

"Amu," Ikuto held my chin up, laughing softly, "This is supposed to be fun, don't worry about being perfect." I blushed again, staring at his shoulder instead of looking at his face as we continue to semi-dance.

Halfway through the song, I leaned my forehead against his chest, feeling light headed as we glided across the small space in the living room. Utau sat on the piano, humming softly. I looked away from the gash on her cheek and watched Aruto and Souko spin out of the room, leaving the five of us alone.

I closed my eyes, finding it wasn't that terrible to dance. Well, not with Ikuto, at least.

TBC…

Suki: That was looong…and not proofread, just sayin...sorry if we traumatized ya with spelling errors XD

Yuuki: and this time, we didn't count these little chats as words…

Suki: yeah, we just realized we were doing that and that it didn't really count…so 2244 is the number of words in the actual story part of this chapie

Yuuki: you can count if you want -_- please don't waste your life doing so

Miki: unless you're really bored…

Yoru: nya~

Suki: yeah, so…probably it for December…the essay part of the 200 point project is due this week and then we have to collect the materials for the project…AND we found out January is the month of the actual experiment so…

Yuuki: and then we have to finish up the data part….then make the poster and decide how we're gonna present it in March (I THINK it's March…)

Suki: Anyways, it's a SMALL possibility that we get another chapie up this month…like maybe over winter break, if not, three or two more chapters in January

Yuuki: so it's not REALLY a hiatus…kinda…in a way…

Suki: just that updates are WAAYY more spaced out…review please!

Everyone: ARIGATOU!

(Final Word Count: 2244)


	10. Clothes

Chapter 10: Clothes

_I closed my eyes, finding it wasn't that terrible to dance. Well, not with Ikuto, at least._

I sighed, hearing the music come to an end. I was about to pull away when Ikuto whispered into my ear, "You know, you never did give me an answer, Amu." He let me go, and I stumbled back, confused. Gave an answer to what? He kept a smirk on his face, though I could see hurt in his eyes.

Utau hopped off the piano, "Well, now what? I'm bored." Kukai pushed the bench he was sitting on back, "Way to ruin their moment, Utau." Tadase laughed softly, "Don't worry, Kukai-san, they'll have plenty more."

"Kukai-_san_? Can't I just be _Kukai_?"

"Eto…"

"Leave Tadase and his polite methods alone." Utau patted his head, stretching her legs, "If you guys have nothing planned then I'll just waltz up to bed."

"Sounds good." Kukai jumped up, trying to dance the waltz with the blonde up the stairs. The three winced as they heard a crash, followed by Kukai running down the stairs and Utau chasing him, holding a broom above her head, "Wanna try that again, punk?!"

"N-no, ma'am!" Kukai grabbed Tadase and used him as a shield, "This blond little demon made me do it!"

"Blond little demon…?" I sweat dropped.

XXXNORMAL POV

"Are you trying to tell me Tadase possessed you?!" She pointed at them with the handle of the broom, eyes glinting dangerously. Poor Tadase just stood there, quite confused. Utau brushed him aside with said weapon, holding it to Kukai's neck, "Never. Touch. My. Ass. Again. Clear?"

"Crystal." He laughed nervously, holding up his hands as something chillingly cold touched his shoulder.

"You _what_?" Ikuto whispered menacingly, face darkening. A bead of sweat appeared on Kukai's cheek, "Eheh…nothing?" Utau crossed her arms, lip twitching, "Oh, it was _nothing_, was it?"

"I mean…uh…"

"Hey, Kukai," Ikuto's grip tightened as he dragged the guy towards the door, "Take a little walk with me?"

"Do I have a choice…?" Little rivers of tears ran down his chibi face as he was chibily dragged to his chibi doom. Tadase and Amu stared with round eyes at the doorway as Utau just smiled smugly. She turned and marched upstairs, "One of the many reasons I love my brother, folks."

Kukai floated in the doorway, little spirit-thing hanging from his mouth, "Ooh, mommy, I see a bright tunnel." Ikuto followed after him, arms behind his head and a grin similar to Utau's spread on his face, "Sorry to keep you waiting." Tadase silently thanked God he hadn't voiced his thoughts earlier.

"Huh?" Ikuto blinked, confusion spreading on his features as Tadase laughed nervously, "Um…nothing! I was just thinking out loud! I guess…" Amu frowned, "I didn't hear anything…

"WE'RE HOME NYAAAAAAAA!"

Yoru yelled, standing in the doorway. Utau reappeared at the stairs, "Yes, we've noticed." Miki ran in past him, "I am so glad I just bought some fabric yesterday." Suki yawned, stretching her arms, "Hurry up, I wanna go home~"

Amu smiled as they walked in, "Hey, guys." Keiko lifted an eyebrow, "Oh, Miki, don't forget about Amu, I think she's the worst case of us all." Tadase jumped as the piano keys rang out in a terrible melody. Kukai was hitting his head on the defenseless piano, groaning, "My head huuuurts…"

"Oh, shush, that's loud!" Yuuki pulled the cover over the keys, so a soft thud took the place of the 'music'. Matt dragged Nagehiko inside, before promptly walking into the couch.

"Owww…"

"Okay, now that's just weird." Keiko muttered, "You're running into _everything_ lately."

"I've noticed." Matt mumbled, getting up and tripping over Nagehiko's foot.

XXXAMU'S POV

"_What's so amazing about this lake anyways?" I muttered, staring at the black cat. He continued watching the black ripples, hardly even blinking. I sighed, scratching at the dried up grass underneath me. What's so amazing about this cat is more like it…_

"_Meow…" Sapphire eyes looked up at me, sadness across his face. I chewed on the fur beneath my lip, "Hmm?" The cat sighed, looking back to the water. I stood and walked closer, leaning over the water. I blinked, seeing my reflection do the same. Only it wasn't of a little brown kitten, it was _me_. As in human me. Only my eyes burned scarlet, standing out from the near pitch black water. The cat shuffled over and stared at the reflection. _

_It didn't look any different. Still a black cat with sapphire eyes. _

_He pulled me back, resting his forehead against my ear, "Nya…A…mu…"_

BEEP! BEEP! BEEP!

"AUUGH!" I jumped up, stomping on the alarm clock with my foot. I paused, where was I?

"Awake, I see." Ikuto sat on a chair, yawning, "Don't take it out on the clock, please." I blinked, staring at his sleepy eyes and watching the blue aura chains unwrap from around his body. Hmph…

"I've never seen you before…"

"Huh?"

"In the meadows…" I mumbled, sitting down and rubbing at my eyes, "Jeesh…what time is it…? Wait- I don't remember putting these on…" I poked the shorts and shirt I was wearing. Ikuto yawned again, "Cause you didn't. I did."

"You…WHAT!?" I jumped up again, arm wrapping around his neck in a headlock, "You pervert!" He laughed, "I'm sorry, I'm sorry!" A blush crept to my cheeks, "Still…" He smirked, "_But _I don't regret it."

"You little-!" I squeaked as he grabbed my arm, pushing me onto the bed and hovering over me, "I'm not allowed in Aruto's meadow." He whispered, sapphire eyes boring into my own, "I'm not allowed to speak. I'm not allowed to interact with the others. I'm not even allowed to tell you this." His eyes narrowed, leaning his forehead against mine, "So far, I've broken most of those rules."

"That doesn't make sense." I frowned, "Why wouldn't you be? Who made the rules?" He smirked, "Ah, Amu, you can be such a child."

"Hey, Amu-chan, we're leave-…" Tadase stared, halfway through the door, before retreating away, "Eheh…sorry to interrupt."

"Wait, Tadase! It's not what it looks like!" I stumbled away from Ikuto, running out into the hall where the blond was just disappearing around a corner.

"Hmm?" Ikuto chuckled at my blush, "What perverted kids you guys are."

"You're a kid too." I muttered, trying to cool my face off. He raised an eyebrow, "I'm in my 60's."

"Pedophile~" Kukai cooed, appearing from the room across the hall, "Hinamori is still a minor, Ikuto-chan~"

"In a few months I'll be 17." I stuck my tongue out, "Just a year till I'm 18." He laughed, walking down the hall, "But you act like an elementary student!"

"It's true, love." Ikuto snickered, pulling me back into the room, "Now let's find you some clothes." I grabbed the clothes that sat on a chair in the corner and ran into the bathroom, locking the door shut. I sighed, scratching my head. Jeez, Ikuto…

XXX

A blue sleeveless shirt that almost reached my knees and some jeans that frilled out at the bottom, almost reaching my ankles. Black sandals that were fastened together so that they wouldn't fall off.

I sighed for the nth time, walking down the stairs while pulling my hair up into a ponytail. Ikuto walked silently behind me, wearing a white button-up shirt and black jeans, and lost in his own world. As I reached the bottom, I saw Tadase watching Kukai play the piano. The blond had dark green jeans and a blue short-sleeved jacket over a white shirt, sleeves rolled up. Kukai had the Seiyo school uniform on, playing Jingle Bells on the piano.

Keiko sat on the couch, twirling her phone around and wearing a v-necked white hoodie and purple shorts. Suki walked in circles, green checkered shirt and aqua jeans. Yuuki was seated on the floor, wearing a white t-shirt, blue pants, and a white belt, as she watched the blonde.

Matt stood near the door. He wore a red shirt and black jeans. Nagehiko, sitting on the floor and wearing a dark green jacket over a white shirt and gray jeans, looked up as I came down the stairs. The ropes were gone be he hadn't tried to leave yet.

Miki, Yoru and Utau were watching the TV, normal clothes in place.

I frowned, "Ne, Ikuto, where's Daichi?" The music stopped and the Tsukiyomis froze. I looked back at Ikuto. He'd stopped walking and was staring at me, lips a tight line, "Daichi is…gone." He whispered, choosing the words carefully, "We…got _separated_ back in Japan when we were…um…on our way to America."

"So he's…dead?"

"Well, we're not a hundred percent sure on that…"

"But you _think_ he _is _dead."

"…Correct."

"And you said Dia was here…where is she?"

"She…is gone, as well."

"_Dead_?"

"She left without saying anything…it's _possible _someone found her and um…disposed of her." Ikuto touched my cheek lightly, "Amu, don't. Don't ask that, please, don't."

"Who?" I murmured, lip beginning to quiver. His hand dropped to his side, "She might've escaped. She-…"

"_Who_?" I looked down at our feet. He sighed, hands clenching into fists, "Council."

XXXNORMAL POV

Nagehiko watched silently as Amu turned and walked outside without a word, leaving everyone to stare after her. His eyes narrowed, sensing a familiar feeling of anger coming from the girl.

Ikuto disappeared back up the stairs, allowing the silence to be prolonged. Nagehiko shivered as something cold slithered around him. A few seconds later, he heard the rattling of a chain as his ability of sensing others' emotions began to dim.

TBC…

(Final Word Count: 1604)

Suki: no proofreading~ VWAHAHAHA!

Yuuki: here's your late little Christmas present~

Suki: OH OH OH OHOHOHOHOHOHOH *raises hand and jumps up and down*

Yuuki: uh...yes, Suki? -.-'

Suki: We put up a (not-so) exciting POLL on Yuuki-tan's page! gO CHECK IT OUT OR I'LL SEND THE MUNCHKINGS ON YA! (inside joke...)

Everyone: ARIGATOU!


	11. Answer

Chapter 11: Answer

_Ikuto disappeared back up the stairs, allowing the silence to be prolonged. Nagehiko shivered as something cold slithered around him. A few seconds later, he heard the rattling of a chain as his ability of sensing others' emotions began to dim._

XXXAMU'S POV

I sighed, leaning my head back against a tree.

The humid air was filled with noisy little bugs, buzzing around me. My skin felt sticky with sweat, even if to anyone else my skin was cold as snow.

But it was better than being in that house.

I closed my eyes against the sun, not bothering to swat at the bugs.

I enjoyed spending time with Ikuto, but he was…scary. I opened my eyes, no, not _scary_. Hmm…strange? I snorted softly, yeah, as if we're not _all _strange. Besides that, Dia and Daichi, and who knows who else, were possibly _dead_. And what about the black cat? He'd said _Amu_. I don't remember telling him my name.

Also, what were we going to do about Nagehiko? It's not right to keep him like…like some sort of prisoner. I'd rather not be a kidnapper, thank you. But he'll defiantly go after Amulet again if we let him leave. And what of his eyes? They're bright scarlet.

Speaking of which, Amulet had mentioned my grandmother again. Apparently, she'd known her before Gran died. Grandma hadn't wanted to be a vampire… I shivered, remembering when we'd gotten the news of her death.

_Amu's Flashback_

"_Mom! Ami got a paper cut!" A little pink-haired child ran in, pulling a young Ami along. Midori stopped chopping carrots and wiped her hands with a cloth, "Okay, let me see."_

_Ami wailed loudly, holding up her finger for her mother to inspect. The woman kissed the tiny cut and patted her small hand, "All better?" She sniffed, nodding, "All better…" Amu laughed softly, "Eheh…the way she was crying made us think she'd cut her finger off!"_

"_Us?" Midori asked, lifting an eyebrow. The girl blinked, looking behind her, "Oh…Tadase-kun! Where'd you go! You didn't tell me we were playing hide-and-seek!" She ran back outside and found the blond right beside the door, "I wasn't invited in…" He smiled apologetically. Amu pouted, "Do I have to invite you inside _every _time?" _

"_It's okay," The figure standing at the fence smiled, "you can go in without being told to all the time, Tadase." Amu smiled back in admiration, "Miss, you're pretty." She blurted without thinking and then blushed. Tadase giggled as the…ahem…'woman' blinked, a strand of purple hair falling out of the braid and in front of 'her' eyes. _

_Ami sauntered out behind them, a small Disney Princess band aid wrapped around her finger, "Ami wants twu wook wike pwetty lady!"_

'_Pretty Lady's' eyes turned to T's as a vein pulsed on 'her' forehead, "Eto…I'm not-"_

_The window rolled down of a car close by and Amu's grandmother waved, "Hey, kids!"_

"_Grandma!" Amu ran over to the fence as Ami went back inside, yelling about Granny being home._

_Later, Amu was helping her mother wash the dishes, chatting about their day. Ami and their father were sleeping upstairs, Grandma had gone home. Then the doorbell rang and the girl hurried over to answer it, thinking Tadase had forgotten something._

_A man in a police uniform tipped his hat slightly, "Good evening. Are your parents home?" Midori walked over, putting a hand on her shoulder, "Yes, we're home. What is it?" He announced in monotone, as if delivering bad news had numbed him to sadness, "Your mother's body has been found."_

"_B-body?" Her eyes widened, "What do you mean?" He sighed, "She's dead, ma'am. It seems like an animal attack. Must've been a big animal…"_

_END Amu's Flashback_

And that was it, everything else was a blur. Just tears, hurt, the funeral…

I scratched the back of my head, "Come to think of it, I think that was Nagehiko, not Tadase's female cousin…" I looked up as small feet came into my line of vision.

Rima stood in front of me, red eyes emotionless, "Is this becoming routine?" I stared up at her, "Get away, bloodsucker." She lifted an eyebrow, "Hmm? As if you're not the same."

"I don't feed off innocent little girls!"

"Deer and other animals can be innocent little girls." She replied, pushing a lock of blonde hair behind her ear, "And humans do more damage than other animals do."

"But t-that's different!"

"How so?"

"Well…" I bit my lip, trying to think up some valid excuses and finding none. She kneeled down in front of me, "Amu, do you happen to have someone you love?" I blinked, "H-huh? Where did _that _suddenly come from?!" Rima shrugged, "You weren't going to find a comeback anytime soon. I bailed you out."

"B-but…"

"Hmm…" She narrowed her eyes, "Does it happen to be…Tsukiyomi Ikuto?"

XXXMIKI'S POV

I was bored. So utterly _bored_.

And afraid. I shivered, staring at the TV. I didn't want to go upstairs, I felt that if I did, I wouldn't come back down unscathed. It's not that I didn't trust Ikuto. It was that I didn't trust…this little ability of his.

I chewed on a toothpick, trying to pay attention to the people on the screen. Everyone else was just lounging around, awaiting Amu's return.

Speaking of Amu, I just hope we don't have to go rescue her or something.

Utau grabbed the remote and changed the channel, "Ugh, there's never anything good on." Yoru yawned, "TV is boring."

"Hey guys," Kukai spun the computer chair around to face us, pointing to the monitor, "Have you ever heard of an 'Energy Vampire'?"

XXXAMU'S POV

"I'm right, huh?" Rima examined her nails indifferently. I felt my face heat up, "N-no!" She lifted an eyebrow, "Hmm? I'm not usually wrong about these things. Didn't he confess?"

"N-…" My mouth fell open. Oh…Ohhh…_Oh_… I mentally killed myself.

_You know, you never did give me an answer, Amu._

How the hell had I forgotten something so important? Rima smiled, "See? I'm never wrong."

"Whatever." I stood, walking back towards the house. The blonde called after me, "Careful, don't try to steal Amulet's toys."

I spun on my heel, "Ikuto is not a toy!" Rima shook her head slowly, disappearing once again into the trees, "Try telling _her _that."

XXXMIKI'S POV

My eyes quickly scanned the article shown on the computer screen, "That's…weird." Yoru leaned over my shoulder, "Huh? Humans who unknowingly take energy from the people around them? What does that have to do with us nya?" Kukai crossed his arms, leaning back in his chair, "Okay, ignore the _human _part. But doesn't this ring a bell? _Have you ever felt tired around a certain person all the time? They may just be an Energy Vampire. Someone who unconsciously takes energy from others. _Hear that bell?" Utau gasped mockingly, "Kukai! I had no idea you were a vampire!"

"Actually, it kind of reminds me of Nii-san." Tadase looked down at his feet. Kukai threw his arms up, "Ding, ding, ding! We have a winner!"

I frowned, "But _I _don't feel much more tired around him than I do you guys."

"What are you implying?" A vein pulsed on Utau's forehead as she glanced at me. Kukai raised a hand, "Wait, listen to this. _An Energy Vampire will either always be full of energy and surround themselves with people when tired or emit a gloomy aura that drive away some and/or attract others to them. With the latter, this person will distance themselves from others as much as possible._ Get it?" Keiko sat up, listening in on their conversation, "But that's with humans…."

"…So with us nya…"

"…The effects will be stronger…" Tadase shivered. I leaned against the wall, "Like say…steal or dampen our abilities?" Yuuki jumped up, "So _that's _why you ran into stuff and- where'd he go?"

XXXNORMAL POV

"_Why _are you _following_ me?"

"Because I'm your friend."

"If you were my _friend _you would _leave me alone_."

"So you can go get yourself killed?"

"Dammit, Matt, I'm not gonna die!" Nagehiko stopped walking, "And I'm not running away. I just want to be as far away from that place as possible. You should know that."

"Well, I didn't. Now that we've got that settled, where do ya wanna go?"

"No, no, see, I said _I _will go somewhere. As in, me, myself, and I."

"And _I _am saying I shall accompany the princess. So, where to?"

"I am _not _a princess!"

"Would you rather I called you a spoiled little bitch?"

"HUH!?"

"There." He nodded towards a group of girls staring at them, "Which will it be, Nagi?" Nagehiko pushed his sunglasses further up his nose, "You mean the nickname or the girls?"

"What _do _I mean?" Matt grinned as the other relaxed a bit.

"Okay, then spoil me, dog." (A.n.- _Suki:_ sorry, I couldn't resist XD)

XXXAMU'S POV

I sighed, hurrying up the stairs and ignoring the others' stares. I knocked on a door, pushing it open slightly, "Ikuto…?" A giggle escaped my lips as I found him curled up on the bed like some big cat. I sat beside him and stroked his cheek, "A big cat…" I trailed off, finding the usual chains in his aura wrapped tightly around his body.

I looked back at his face. He looks like he's sleeping peacefully enough…I poked one of the chains.

It lashed out and wrapped around my arm, coiling up. Of course, I cried out, pain shooting up from my fingertips.

The door flung open as I struggled, trying to get it off. Arms wrapped around me and I was pulled away, the chains slipping from me.

I held my hand to my chest, looking from behind Yuuki as Ikuto continued to sleep. The chain rattled as it wound around him again. The tension subsided as Keiko scratched her cheek, "Uh…what was that about?"

"T-that _thing _tried to eat me!"

"Ikuto's not a thing." Utau snapped. I jumped up as Kukai released me, "Not _Ikuto_! The _chain_!"

"Chain?" Kukai asked, looking around. Tadase frowned, "Amu-chan, what chain?"

"What do you mean _what chain_?!" I face-palmed, oh _duh_, they can't see it. Stupid _aura _chains. I sighed, "Hmm…sorry, I was just…daydreaming."

XXX

"And where have you two been?" Keiko asked as the door softly opened. I looked up from the book in my hands.

Nagehiko closed the door behind him, "Around." Matt scratched his cheek, "Eto…We kinda got…lost…" She shook her head in disapproval, "Got lost my ass." Suki poked her head out from her room, "Who's ass got lost?" I sweat dropped, "Uh…Nobody's."

We were back in the suite, trying to keep cool by looking for a way to escape the sun. But there were windows _everywhere_.

This place was defiantly not made for vampires.

"Oh…" Tadase stood and took a small case from his pocket, holding it out to Nagehiko, "We thought you might need this." The boy opened the little case and stared at its contents, "…Contacts?" He stared at them a little while longer. Matt snickered, "What? Do you need someone to put them on for you, too?"

"Tch, is that anyway to speak, dog?" Nagehiko pulled off the sunglasses, stuffing them into his pocket. I flipped open my phone as it vibrated.

_Can we talk? -Ikuto_

I set the book down, sneaking into my room and closing the door.

_Where? –Amu_

_Come outside –Ikuto_

I tossed it onto my bed before stepping out onto the balcony, pulling the curtains down behind me. Ikuto sat on the railings, staring at the ocean view. I hopped up beside him, swinging my legs slowly, "So…What's up?"

"I'm sorry." He turned sapphire eyes to me, "So, you can see them?" A chain floated close to my face before retreating as I nodded, "I can see the chains."

"…Can…you hear them?"

"Ikuto, they're chains. I don't think they speak Japanese. But if you mean the rattling, then yeah."

"Oh, good…" He sighed in relief, looking back at the waves. I looked down, watching the water break against the rocks.

A comfortable silence hung in the salt-filled air, birds flying past us every now and then.

"Ne, Ikuto…" I whispered, intertwining my fingers with his and leaning my head against his shoulder, "I have my answer…"

TBC…

Suki: BWAHAHAHAHAHA I REFUSE TO PROOFREAD BWAHAHAHHA!

Yuuki: ...we hardly ever do anyways...

Suki: true...anywho~ I has a QUESTION! Anybody care to explain how to get a beta reader? Cuuuuz I think it'll be easier for us to write...or at least someone said it would be...blah

Everyone: ARIGATOU!

(Final Word Count: 2060)


	12. Twister

Suki: Gwaah...sorry for the long wait...

Yuuki: Also, there was a question about the "Energy Vampire" thing a few chapters back, and no, we didn't make it up...Google it, you'll find a bunch of stuff on it. Though we did change some things to make it fit better with Kyuuketsuki Ichigo

Suki: Yesh~ And be warned, we have not proofread!

Chapter 12: Twister

"_Ne, Ikuto…" I whispered, intertwining my fingers with his and leaning my head against his shoulder, "I have my answer…"_

I closed my eyes, feeling the tension drain from his body. Ikuto relaxed, "Hmm…"

I wasn't sure how long we stayed like that, but I must've fallen asleep. When I opened my eyes, the sky was dark and my legs had cramped. I yawned, sitting up, "Mm…what time is it?" Ikuto shrugged, keeping his eyes on the water, "I'd say around 9."

"Oh…" I trailed off, staring at the sapphire eyes that watched the water so closely. Huh…déjà vu.

I sighed, standing up and jumping back onto the balcony, "Well, are you gonna stay there all night or will you come inside?" Ikuto smirked, following me inside, "Little girls shouldn't invite Dracula in." I rolled my eyes, "Oh, really? And why is that, Mr. Vampire?" A squeak escaped my lips as I was tripped, landing sprawled on my bed. I looked up at Ikuto, "Oi!" He laughed nuzzling my neck, "You still smell like strawberries."

"Wow, you've become random."

"…" As he tried not to smile, a pout formed on his lips. I lifted an eyebrow, "What?" Mock horror spread across his face, "You haven't called me a pervert all day. Are you sick?"

"I…guess I haven't…" I mused, staring past him to the ceiling. Ikuto rolled over so he was lying next to me, staring up as well, "You're not…too upset about Dia and Daichi, are you?"

"Of course I'm _upset_…"

"But…you're not gonna go after the Council?"

"Ikuto Tsukiyomi!" I propped myself up on my elbows, frowning, "Do you seriously think I want revenge? Well, sure I'm not planning on ever forgiving them, but I know that I'm not strong enough to kill them. I'd just add myself to the death list!"

"You're strong." He whispered, moonlight reflecting off his eyes.

"How so?" I muttered, letting myself fall back to the bed. "Most people," He closed his eyes, "Would be terrified. The brat's right." Ikuto sat up, looking back at the moon, "The people at Seiyo took 'dangerous' the wrong way. But if they'd known the truth, they would have run away screaming."

"…You mean the _girls _at Seiyo."

"No, I mean the people." He chuckled, "Oops, I think I've scarred the poor child."

"C-child?!"

"Of course, love~"

"Bu- n- you- I-…grrrrr PERVERT!" I jumped up, marching out the door. Ikuto caught the door before it was slammed into the wall, laughing as he followed me, "How does calling you a child make me a pervert?"

"I…eto…just cause!" I stuck my tongue out, finding, once again, that I had no valid excuses.

"Oh, hey, Angel." Matt chimed in, appearing beside us. Ikuto faltered in his step slightly, "I thought you'd stopped that…" I pouted, "Yeah, me too."

He shrugged, "I forgot about it. Speaking of which, _you _still haven't given it back."

"Given back what?" Ikuto muttered, not making any attempt at hiding the fact that he knew exactly what was being asked for.

"I still don't know. But once you give it back I'll remember." Matt scratched his cheek, "…Okay, I've given myself a headache again."

"What are you doing?" I murmured, finding Nagehiko hiding behind the couch. He crossed his arms, turned and stalked over to a chair in the corner.

"Well, fine then, Grumpy." I muttered, quiet enough for nobody to hear. Tadase smiled apologetically, "So, Nii-san, what are you doing here?"

"Eh? Is the Kiddy King not glad I'm here?" Ikuto teased, smirking.

"I-I didn't m-mean it like that!" Tadase stuttered, too nice at the moment to say anything else. Pfsh, who knew you could be too nice?

"Let's play a game!" Suki yelled, holding up a box. Yuuki paled, snatching away the box, "Not that game! Remember what happened last time!?"

"So?" She blinked innocently. Keiko grabbed the box, "Twister?" Matt shook his head, stealing the game, "I suggest something else. Like…_anything _else." I opened the box as he tossed it to me, "Well, how bad could it be?"

"You have no idea." Yuuki, Keiko, and Matt muttered, sighing in defeat. Ikuto lifted an eyebrow as Suki and I spread out the Twister mat.

XXX

I must be the clumsiest vampire that has ever died…

"Ow! Amu, you stepped on my hand!" Yuuki whined as I immediately pulled back my foot and put it on a different red dot, "Sorry!"

Tadase sweat dropped, spinning the little arrow around the cardboard. Lucky…he picked the short straw…

"Eto…Nii-san, left hand yellow…"

Ikuto, currently having two hands on blue, one foot on green, and the other on yellow, slid his hand across the mat, managing to place a hand on yellow without falling and therefore falling on top of me. I sighed, keeping as low as possible so that my back didn't touch his back.

"Keiko-san, right foot green…"

"Ugh…Oi, Ikuto, scoot over, you're hoggin' the last green dot!" Keiko put her foot on the green dot. Yes, it was true, green seemed to be a popular color, seeing as all of us were touching it.

"Right hand blue, Matt…" Tadase smiled apologetically as the said guy reached around Yuuki and I to touch the blue dot. How he knew where the colors and dots were was beyond my knowledge…

"Watch it!" I hissed as somebody's foot nearly unbalanced me.

"I may be immortal but I'm not that freaking flexible!" Matt hissed. Suki giggled, "Isn't this fun!?" A vein pulsed on Yuuki's forehead, "Define fun."

So, many turns later, we were all still in and it was now becoming a competition…

"Right foot yellow, Nii-san." Tadase yawned, eyelids drooping. Nagehiko continued to sit in the chair, dragging it a bit closer.

Ikuto slid his foot to the said dot, leg touching my stomach. I gulped, feeling a sudden urge to sneeze.

"Right hand green, Keiko-san." The blond murmured, nearly dropping the cardboard piece. Keiko grinned in triumph, easily placing her hand on the dot.

"Right hand yellow." Tadase mumbled, yawning again. Matt reached over me, sleeve tickling the back of my neck. I sniffed, concentrated on not sneezing.

"Suki-san, left hand blue."

Suki moved her hand, nearly falling over.

"Yuuki-san, right foot green."

Yuuki strained to get her foot around my arm and Ikuto's foot, but managed to do so.

"Left hand red." Tadase leaned his chin against his palm, yawning for the nth time. My arm trembled as I reached over Ikuto, fingertips lightly touching the dot. I blushed as his shoulder touched my side.

"Right foot yellow." The blond grumbled, eyes opened barely a slit. Ikuto sighed, moving his foot to another dot, brushing against my elbow.

_**Such an intimate game.**_

Shut u-

"Achoo!" I sneezed, toppling over like dominos. I rubbed my head, landing sprawled across Ikuto' stomach with my foot against Keiko's neck.

"Ow, ow, ow!" Matt hissed, stuck at the bottom of our vampire pile. Suki giggled, sitting at the top, "We should do this more often!"

"No!" At least we can all agree on _something_. I blinked, hearing something soft, gradually becoming louder. We looked up, seeing Nagehiko with his hands over his mouth, trying to keep his laughter a secret and failing joyfully.

Matt stopped complaining, laughing as well, "Aha! You lost! Fork~ It~ Over~"

"Okay, okay!" Nagehiko tried to catch his breath, tossing a coin over at him, "You win." He got up, walking over to the little kitchen and taking out a bowl. He filled it with cereal and ate some, "How do people enjoy eating this?" He murmured, swallowing.

Yuuki pushed Suki off, standing as well, "Get off of me, will ya?!" We gradually managed to untangle ourselves.

I brushed some dust off my shorts, watching Suki try to convince everyone to play again. Girl just doesn't give up, does she?

"Gwah!" We looked up as Matt tripped over the couch, nearly smashing his head on the table. Nagehiko sat on the counter, continuing to munch away on some Frosted Flakes, "How clumsy, dog."

"Are you getting up or not?" Yuuki growled, noticing the boy had no intention in doing so. I leaned over the side of the couch, "He's…asleep?"

"How do you fall asleep after tumbling over a couch?" Keiko rolled her eyes, "Jeesh." Tadase yawned again, stumbling over to his room, "G'night…"

"That was almost rude." Yuuki noted, pushing the Twister box into a drawer. Nagehiko put his bowl down, making his way over to the window and peering out, "Do you guys hear that?"

"No." She picked up his bowl, dumping it into the sink and beginning to wash it, "And shouldn't you clean your own dishes?"

"It's like…music?" He pressed his face against the glass, trying to get a better look at the beach bellow us. Ikuto sat up, "Oh, yeah. There was supposed to be some concert on the beach today."

"Let's go see it." Keiko and Suki chirped, already running out the door before anybody answered. The four of us followed them quickly, in case they got themselves into trouble. Which, knowing them, was most likely to happen.

I sighed, arriving at the little stage and watching people sing and dance. Nothing out of the ordinary. Just a bunch of teenagers goofing around.

When something pricked my foot, I realized none of us had thought to slip on some shoes in our hurry. I wiggled my toes, sand swishing around as the water lapped at the shore. Looking back up, I joined the others on a log that was being used as a bench.

It's almost like being normal again.

TBC…

(Final Word Count: 1607)

Suki: NOOOOOO HOW DARE YOU!? *shaking Yuuki's shoulders* you took away the cliffhanger from this chapter!

Yuuki: *has little spirals for eyes* Uhhnn…

Yoru: you can't put a cliffhanger for EVERY chapter nya

Suki: D8 no one asked you!

Yoru: NYA! 38

Everyone: ARIGATOU!


	13. Murder

Yuuki: Ahem…

Suki: Eheh…Well, we _would _have a whole bunch of chapters up to celebrate our (temporary) return since our science projects are FINALLY over and done with…

Yuuki: But our dear laptop died.

Suki: And we got it back from the computer doctor about a week ago…but since the school exams are going around, we didn't even turn it on…And when we did, we found out all our memory was GONE…including all our videos, pictures, documents, etc.

Yuuki: So, yeah…we posted a journal on Deviant about that…

Suki: So, all the chapies we had finished rough drafting are dead, too. *sulks*

Yuuki: …soooooo…yeah….. excuse the terrible chapter you are about to read, but we needed to get SOMETHING up or else our school major exam break would fly by and we wouldn't have posted anything. Exams resume in April, by the way…

Suki: without further a do, I present to you~ … *whisper* what rhymes with do and you?

Yuuki: …

Yoru: poo

Suki: without further a do, I present to you, Yoru's poo~ XD

Chapter 13: Murder

_It was almost like being normal again._

XXX

There were only a few hours of night left by the time we started heading back to the hotel. Ikuto quietly walked beside me, lost in his own thoughts.

The small concert had been fun. There were mostly teenagers around my age there, laughing and playing games. It really was like I was back at school, going on with life as it used to be. Strangely, I hadn't felt much homesickness like I'd thought I would if I was ever reminded of normal life. I only thought of my family now, as we walked in comfort back to the suite. Suki turned around, walking backwards, "So...are you gonna stay the night or something?" I gave her a disaproving glance, way to be rude. Ikuto narrowed his eyes, "I wasn't planning on doing so." We continued walking in tense silence.

I sighed, "Maybe you should go home...?" He gave me a half-smile, "Sweet dreams." And then he disappeared.

I blinked, surprised that Ikuto had gotten so much faster. Keiko laughed nervously, "Well, someone's been training." Nagehiko lifted an eyebrow, "Hmm? That wasn't too fast. I bet I could still outrun him."

This time, we all froze as our friend vanished. I stared in astonishment at the spot where he had just stood.

"So." He breathed on the back of my neck, "Who do you think is faster, Amu-chan?" My hand shot to my neck as he took a step back, grinning. I wasn't sure whether to grin back or run away.

"Tsukiyomi is faster." Yuuki shouldered past us, "Because he didn't take a human life to achieve that speed." Nagehiko glared, grin gone, "I didn't kill _anyone_." She stopped walking, looking over her shoulder, "No, you just drained them until they were anemic."

"I did what I needed to do to find Amulet." He hissed.

"So, how did it feel to sink your teeth into a pretty white neck and taste human blood?" She shot back, "Why do you want to kill Amulet!? I thought I understood, but obviously, I don't! You're no better than her!"

Keiko and Suki ran off in a different direction, "We'll be right back!" I felt glued to the ground. Oh, thanks guys, leave me with the two fighting vampires.

Nagehiko disappeared from my side, reappearing behind Yuuki, "Don't compare me to her."

"The big bad wolf dies in the end, you know." She struggled to free herself of his grip.

"Where's your man with an axe, then, Little Red Riding Hood? Or did you tell him to get lost?"

I felt like I would faint when he leaned forward and bit into her neck.

XXXNORMAL POV

"Where'd he go?" Suki kicked at some dust. Keiko looked around, "I thought I saw them turn here..."

"Hey, guys."

The two girls spun around.

Yoru raised his hand, smiling, "Whatcha doing?"

They jumped back as he collapsed, head rolling off his shoulders. A girl with blonde hair pulled her hand back, wiping a drop of blood from her katana. "Yoru" disappeared, leaving behind some dead stranger.

"Dumb rogue." The girl sheathed her katana, "Shape-shifters always did annoy me."

"Who are you?" Keiko demanded, getting into a fighting stance. Suki did the same, watching as the blonde stuffed the body into a bag. The girl stood, wiping off her hands.

"I am ShikiTi Ku. And I'm looking for Hinamori Amu."

XXXAMU'S POV

"Let her go!" I tugged at his arm. I cried out as I was shoved back, slamming into the wall. Blood trickled down my cheek, but still I stood, stumbling back over to them. I reached out as Nagehiko released her, letting Yuuki fall limply to the ground.

He looked down at me, licking at his lips. Now scarlet eyes mocked me, "Who are you to tell me what to do?" Tears threatened to spill from my eyes as my vision began to blur, "Who am _I_? The question is who are _you_!" He paused, as if considering my words. My legs gave out and I fell to my knees, staring up at him, "She's right, you know. You're no better than Amulet, if you can kill so freely."

Nagehiko leaned down, "I have never killed anyone." We stiffened as a small click reached our ears. I looked up from those frightening red eyes to see the gun at his head. Tadase's gun? But I don't remember seeing him bring it. I followed the arm with my eyes, staring at sightless gold eyes.

"I have." Matt whispered, pulling back the trigger.

XXXIKUTO'S POV

I yawned, entering the house through a window. The house was quiet, everyone else had gone to sleep. Good.

"You can come out now. I know you're there." I muttered, waiting to see if the girl would come out of hiding or would stubbornly refuse to show herself.

She stepped out of the shadows, white hair swaying around her, "Hello, Tsukiyomi Ikuto." She looked around 14 or 15 years old, crimson eyes nearly glowing in the dark, "My name is Chika Etsuko."

TBC...

Yuuki: sorry that it was rushed, not good, terrible grammer, and just plain dumb

Suki: pffsh...you sound mad D8

Yuuki: ...*teary eyed* y-you killed me!

Suki: nu-uh! Tis Nagi's fault!

Matt: ... *takes picture of Shugo people out from my folder and scribbles over Nagi, cuz it's labled*

Suki: oi!

Matt: *puts back picture* ...

Suki: what was that for!? D8

Matt: *shrug* it was annoying me...

Suki: WHYYYYYYYYYYYYYY

Matt: *all T_T faced* in case you can't remember, you friggin showed me drawings and stories about that thing *points at scribbled pictures*

Suki: NUUUUUUUUUUUUUUU *mourns loss of nagi*

Everyone: ARIGATOU!


	14. Contract

Suki: HELLOOOOO!

Yuuki: Okay, what we just found out, is that Word has completely disappeared from our laptop. SOOOO, since we kept the last chapter on the fanfiction document manager, we just erased what was there and wrote this. That means that there will be even more spelling and grammer mistakes than usual and that we can't tell how many pages it is. (usually we make the minimum four pages OR 1500 words)

Suki: So, yeah...and the word count on this thing isn't accurate at all T_T' Meh, we're just gonna get it as long as we can...nyan...

Chapter 14: Contract

_She stepped out of the shadows, white hair swaying around her, "Hello, Tsukiyomi Ikuto." She looked around 14 or 15 years old, crimson eyes nearly glowing in the dark, "My name is Chika Etsuko."_

XXXAMU'S POV

A wail escaped my lips as Nagehiko fell into my arms, blood gushing from his head. Matt lowered his arm, pocketing the gun. Now the area reeked of blood and sirens screamed in the background. Yuuki still lay on the ground nearby, completely still.

_"I have never killed before."_

_"I have."_

I forced myself to raise my head, staring at Matt. He stared back, eyes blank and glassy.

"Y-you..." I glanced back at Nagehiko with dread, tears begining to fall down my cheeks. He kneeled down, pulling him away from me. Brushing some hair from the other's face, Matt continued staring at me. I gulped, afraid to look away, "You...k-killed him?" To my utter horror, he started laughing, "Killed him? Hardly. You can't kill Fujisaki-sama so easily." The laughter died, to a soft chuckle, mocking me, "I found out what your boyfriend's little secret is."

"S-secret?" My voice squeaked.

"The lake." He whispered. The smile he wore now reminded me of the sick and twisted one Amulet always had on. He placed his hand over Nagehiko's eyes, "The lake...Is like a portal to the pits of Hell."

"Th-the lake?" I felt myself start to tremble. Memories of sitting next to the Black Cat-san while he watched black water came flashing through my mind. Matt nodded, "Kuro-san was right, not to let us too close to the water. But that's the problem with secrecy and power. You're either seen as a devil or a god. Tsukiyomi is probably somewhere in between." I looked back to Nagihiko's face, "A-and...what about Amulet?"

"The Merciless Angel of Mercy."

The words didn't make sense to me. But I never got a chance to ask him about it again.

A police car pulled up next to us. The officers piled out of the cars, circling around our group. One of them asked us something that I couldn't understand. Oh, how come I could never pay any attention in English Class?

"Atashi..._I-I...have no pencil_?" I would have blushed, but nausea started to roll over me in waves.

What if they took us to jail? And my parents decided to watch the American news? Or, worse, we were taken to a hospital and they gave us blood? Or tested _our_ blood? What if they pronounce Yuuki and Nagihiko dead, but they magically live? And find the bullet in Nagihiko and the bite marks on Yuuki? So many "what ifs" ran in my head, I thought I would burst into hysteria from panic.

"_T-there was a man_," Matt started speaking to them in English, with a fake shocked and frightened voice, "_He had a gun...He ran in that direction._" He pointed towards the trees. All of them turned to look. In that split second, Matt pulled out the gun again and shot off each and everyone of them. He walked past the bodies, pulling a bag out from the trees. Bringing it back, I felt the nausea increase.

Shooting the last bullet into the corpse's forehead, he placed the pistol into the dead man's hand. For the first time, I noticed he was wearing gloves. So they won't find his fingerprints. Don't tell me he planned this from the begining...

"You think you could manage to carry her back to the suite?" Matt nodded towards Yuuki, already picking Nagihiko off the dusty ground. I nodded weakly, stumbling onto my feet and over to the limp body. I reached out to grab her arm just as the nausea completely overwhelmed me. Turning away, I felt like I would have vomited if I had eaten anything. Gratefully, I slipped into blissful unconciousness and unawareness.

_This time, I didn't open my eyes to see flowers around me. I dreamed I was running. Running down the stairs of an unknown house. Yet I knew this way very well._

_I ran down to the basement, panicing when I found I couldn't get the door open. I had to get it open. I had to. But it wouldn't budge. Pressing my ear, against the cold metal, I could head the murmur of someone talking. A wind-chime laugh. My face drained completely of color._

_They had been right...they had been right! I shouldn't have trusted her!_

_I shouldn't have trusted them! I shouldn't have-_

_I was jolted onto my feet. Sinking back down to my knees, I tried to regain my breath._

_The flowers, swaying slightly in the breeze, tickled my legs. Aruto's meadow didn't look any different than the last time I'd been here. Then why hadn't I waken up here in the first place? Yet, at the same time, it _was_ different. Behind that metal door, I was losing someone very important to me. Someone I wouldn't be able to go on without. I rested my head on my hands, feeling tears moisten my palms._

_Now, I found myself missing everyone's constant visits. When I had been human, there had always been someone there to greet me when I arrived to Aruto's meadow. But not anymore. I was alone, with only the occasional company of the Black Cat._

_But I didn't know where to find them, all the trees looked the same to me. I couldn't even find my way to the river again. The only path I knew now was the one to the lake. Nobody ever explained how this place worked to me. Maybe we weren't as close I thought we were._

_Standing, I ran into the shadows, not even pausing when I took my kitten form. Racing down the familiar path, I skidded to a halt at the edge of the trees. I peeked at the lake, leaves and grass poking at my nose. The Black Cat was crouched in front of the water, tail lashing and ears pulled back. He hissed, sharp teeth glinting dangerously. Blood ran down his face, dripping to the dead grass and matting in his fur. A fox stood in front of him, trying to find an opening to attack._

_My blood ran cold as he jumped forward, swiping with a paw and hopping a few steps back. Streaks of scarlet appeared across the cat's shoulders. At the same time, the two lunged at each other, clawing and biting while tumbling around in a furry ball._

_The growling and hissing stopped abruptly._

_Black Cat-san towered above Matt, claws held securly at his neck. The fox took deep breaths, completely winded. After moment of me hesitating to step out, he flipped onto his back, catching the cat by surprise. Now the tables turned as Matt pressed the cat into the dead grass, blood gushing from his neck._

_I leaped out from my hiding place, "What the hell are you doing?!"_

_He looked up at me, caught off guard. Black Cat-san whipped his head back, sinking his teeth into Matt's paw._

_"Stop it!" I ran closer to them, trying to get them to stop fighting, "Stop-"_

_I yelped as the cat was slammed into me, causing us both to go flying back. He barely seemed to notice his injuries as he charged back at the fox, leaving behind a bloody trail._

_Going as fast as my short legs would go, I raised my paw above the black water, standing at the lake's edge. The noise stopped again. They stared at me, fur covered with blood and grass. Well, the cat stared at me, Matt stared right over my shoulder. "Explain, or I'm going for a swim." I threatened, still out of breath from slamming into the ground so hard._

_"Amu dear," Matt spoke slowly, cautiously, "You do know that right now, you have one foot in your grave, on out, right?"_

_"Answer my question, then." I demanded. I wasn't sure if I'd actually step into the water. Heck, I wasn't even sure they would care. Sadness spread through me, I wasn't sure I even _knew_ Matt anymore. Said fox now slinked away from Black Cat-san, guilt covering his features._

_The world started spinning and blurring together._

My eyes flashed open, taking in the white ceiling above me. Matt's face filled my line of vision suddenly, "Amu...?"

My breath hitched, eyes widening. Somehow, he seemed so different now. He was no longer our dear friend. No longer like a little brother. No longer our Matt.

I noticed, now, for the first time, that his eyes didn't seem like the glassy pools of a blind person. They were livid yet dead looking, eyes that had seen too much even though they saw nothing, as if that made any sense.

A frown was etched on soft, pink lips.

**_They say the eyes are like windows to a person's soul._**

Then your soul must be very hollow and empty at the moment. A small, sad smile played on his mouth, "Gold is for fools. A fool takes so much, that they can't see right from want and wrong from need."

"Are you a fool, then?" I answered evenly.

"You certainly aren't." He whisered, cool breath brushing my forehead. Pulling away, Matt settled in a nearby chair, watching the shallow rise and fall of Nagihiko's chest. I choked back a sob, realization coming to me. I really had lost my little brother. Sure, we weren't blood related and he was older than me by decades, but it was the only way I found to describe our bond.

All of us, we were always as close as a family. But now we were falling apart. I wonderedong it would be until we seperated completely.

Though I knew he could hear me, Matt didn't answer. He didn't show the slightest sign sign of acknowledging my presence, of my very existance.

I think that hurt even more than the throbbing headache that pounded at my skull.

The door creaked open, Tadase and Ikuto quietly walking in and shutting it behind them. Sapphire eyes locked with mine as he rushed over to my side. I forced a smile to my face, "Hey..." The word barely left my lips when I broke down in his arms, sobs racking my body.

XXXKUKAI'S POV

Yoru and Ikuto had rushed out of the house this morning, the sun had brealy even gone up. Again.

They would come back later, and then they would explain, they say. Again.

They were going to go hand out with Hinamori and the Council Regects. What's the next word? Go ahead, guess! Yeah, that's right: _Again_.

That left me with Utau and Miki. Both of which had resumed their liking to gossip and other girly stuff. Aruto-san and Souko-san were off doing their own thing. What, where, and how, I did not know nor care about.

Nobody cares if dear, dear Kukai dies of boredom. Nope, not at all.

So, what do I do? Watch TV? Eat ice cream? Go out and save the world? Nope. I follow the girls around, complaining, and trying to make sense of what they were saying.

"Can you believe," Miki slammed her sketchbook onto the table, "how annoying she can be? All day at school it was 'I have cramps' and 'Oh, Aoi-chan, be a dear and come with me to the bathroom'."

Utau nodded, sipping at the Blood Tablet Drink, "Can't sympathsize, haven't gone through _that _since forever ago."

"_What_ is '_that_'?" - Air quotes on that - "And _why_ did she want you to go with her to the _bathroom_?" I pouted slightly as they exchanged glances. I pushed away from the table, "Nevermind, I'd rather not know."

"Why don't you do something useful, if you're so bored?" Blondie suggested, gulping down the rest of her drink.

And that's how I ended up sitting in front of the computer screen. "The wonders of Google." I muttered, reading over all the websites that had information on Energy Vampires. I clicked on a random one.

Ways To Protect Yourself From An Attack.

Looked promising enough, I guess.

_The only way to protect yourself 100% is simple: Stay AWAY!_

Yeah, like I could possibly get an isolation cell for Ikuto. I'm not _that_ cruel. Clicking back, I waited for the computer to load oh so slowly. To any human, this was probably one of the fastest computers in the world, to me it was about as fast as Utau in the bathroom every morning. Ah, a girl will be a girl no matter what species she's from.

I scrolled down the list again, reading through countless articles and videos. Finally, something caught my eye.

_One's aura tells a lot about a person. This is what an Energy Vampire feeds on. The following are simple ways to protect and use your aura efficiently. _

Now we were getting somewhere.

XXXAMU'S POV

"Open up this door right now!" I demanded, pounding on said door ruthlessly. I didn't expect a reply of any sort and I certainly didn't get one. In the last few hours, everything had taken a sudden turn. And now I started wondering what would be on the other side when we got there.

Matt had locked himself in his and Tadase's room, without warning nor a reason why. Ignoring the two strangers in the main room, I stomped into my own temporary bedroom. Ikuto lay on the bed, casually flipping through one of the magazines, "Hey."

"Hey yourself." I grabbed the magazine and tossed it onto the desk. He pouted, "I was reading that, you know, love." I smirked, so unlike myself that his eyes actually widened, mouth becoming a little O. I pounced on him, snuggling my cheek in the crook of his neck. I didn't want to think about the others for a while. I just wanted to spend some time with Ikuto. Just us. He wrapped his long, comforting arms around my waist, "Tch, my smirk has been stolen once again." I giggled, "Hmm...I love you." I tilted my head up, just as he looked down.

We stared at each other as our noses got smushed together, then started laughing. Ikuto chuckled, "We...we laugh at the dumbest things." I nodded, grinning like an idiot, "Eh? Remember, you're _my_ idiot. You've said so yourself." He raised an eyebrow, "Eh yourself. That was random."

"Can we have pancakes for lunch?"

"Random perverted little kid." Ikuto teased, poking my forehead affectionatly. We stayed like that for quite a while, in comfortable silence. But it seems we can't ever have our moment without something happening. I was just about to doze off when I heard voices coming from the room next door.

I took this as a chance to test out just what I could do with my vampire ability. It had been on my mind for a while, so I might as well test out some of my ideas. Closing my eyes, I felt my own aura swirl around my body. I closed it off, focusing the energy on my eyes. Then I allowed the light to expand, spreading through the walls.

I opened my eyes without actually opening my eyes.

Suddenly, I was floating near the window of the guys' room. My sight focused on the figure sitting on one of the beds. I recognized him. He had black hair with the red tips and scarlet eyes. He had left with Amulet from the roof after she had attacked me. His name, I remembered, was Shii. I shivered, somehow. Seeing as at the moment I was out of my body. Shii and Matt were talking quietly, though from this distance I should have been able to hear them. I realized I couldn't had _anything_. I must have forgotten my other senses in my body.

And that sentance wasn't weird at all, right? _Riiight_.

After concentrating for a bit, sound gradually came back to me. Slowly.

Shii beckoned for the other to come closer. After a moment of hesitation, Matt obeyed, carefully kneeling in front of him. He placed his hand over sightless golden eyes, "...-contract." The noise finally sounded clearly in my ears. I frowned, contract...?

With his other hand, Shii tilted his chin up, leaning down to whisper something in his ear. I didn't catch the words, but, whatever it was, it made him stiffen, back going rigid. Shii chuckled darkly, nibbling on the other's neck.

I floated closer, seeing the trembling in my ex-little brother.

The words still made my heart ache.

_He lifted an eyebrow, "Hmm? Why are you saying that like I'm a little brother or something?"_

_"Huh?"_

_"You used that tone with Ami." He murmured, holding out his hand as snow began to fall again._

I reached out as the older vampire sank glinting fangs into Matt's pale neck, earning a whimper. Then another though struck me - what was this guy doing here anyway? My fingers brushed his cheek and somehow I heard his thoughts. _...-for her. It's always her fault, that I have to fix things by making her hate me-_

I pulled back my hand. Who had he meant by 'her'? Before I could touch Matt again, I was roughly yanked back into my body.

Yawning, I sleepily looking into worried saphire eyes. Relief spread across Ikuto's face, "You really freaked me out there. You...looked like you were dead..." For a few moments, I simply stared at him, organizing my thoughts. Then I bolted out the door, leaving a startled Ikuto to resume banging on the door.

XXXTADASE'S POV

A sigh escaped my lips as the sound of Amu banging on the door reached our ears again.

"Open up or I'm kicking in the door!" She shouted, and we heard the clear intention of doing so. "Amu," Keiko leaned back, peering into the hall, "Don't forget we're broke. We'd have to pay for that."

"Get out, now, Shii!"

ShikiTi and Chika looked at each other for a brief second before jumping over our heads. I whirled around, arriving beside them just as the blonde sliced the door in half with her katana. Amu shouldered past her, barging into the room. Ikuto joined us, raising an eyebrow at the broken door. I duckd beneath the upper half of the door, nearly bumping into Amu. She spun in a slow circle, examining the room. Matt was asleep on the floor, shivering uncontrolably.

"Amu-chan..." I reached out to put my hand on her shoulder, but she moved forward, crouching beside at the prone figure.

XXXAMU'S POV  
Finding proof I hadn't just imagined it all, my hands balled up into fists as I angrily stared at his neck. Two little wounds adorned the pale flesh, scabbing over instead of healing like it should have. I looked around the room in frusteration. He _must_ still be in the room. "What contract? Answer me! What the hell did you mean by contract?!"

Ikuto pulled me to my feet, "Amu, calm down. You're not thinking rationally." I shook my head vigirously, "But-"

"Hinamori Amu." The girl with the katana pulled my attention to them, "We have something to ask of you and The Tsukiyomi Child." Rima appeared beside them, a little blond kid at her side. I tensed, add the appearance of Rima and the mention of The Tsukiyomi Child and you get trouble, trouble, trouble. Rima stared at us evenly, then dropped to her knees, bowing at mine and Ikuto's feet. My eyes widened as the other two girls did the same, leaving only the small boy to stare up at us. Thought somehow it felt like I was the one staring up at him.

Rima looked at us with pleading eyes, voice desperate, "Please! Help us save Gozen-sama! We beg of you!"

TBC...

Suki: Mwahaha! No proofreading!

Yuuki:...

Suki: people, if you haven't already, go vote on our pole! The most popular OC shall get a pageful of drawing that will be posted on our DeviantArt account for all to see!

Yuuki: ... *bangs head on table* I think I'm wearing invisible slash goggles that won't come off

Suki: neheheh~ Anyways~ I have a sudden want of watching that Alice In Wonderland movie~ Eep, Mad Hatter and Cheshire Caaat~ *thinking about Pandora Hearts now* Breaku~

Yuuki: ahem, to the point

Suki: oh, right~ okay, folks, _Kyuuketsuki Ichigo _is barely starting and yet we're already thinking about the next Kyuuketsuki project~

Yuuki: of course, we're not gonna do another serious one, with a big plot...probably

Suki: _Kyuuketsuki Drabbles _is the title we're currently calling it ourselves! XD We have so many ideas, and we're gonna actually start writing the rough draft of the first chapter after we finish typing this chapter. More on that later~ Review please~

Everyone: ARIGATOU!


	15. Possibilities

Suki: YEAAAAH! We fixed Word~

Yuuki: ah, how I've missed spell-check~

Chapter 15: Possibilities

_Rima stared up at us with pleading eyes, voice desperate, "Please! Help us save Gozen-sama! We beg of you!"_

My head spun, oxygen momentarily refusing to enter my dead lungs. Rima, _the _Rima, was on her knees. And she was begging _me _for help. The possibility had just never crossed my mind. Hope drained from the blonde's face, "Rima-san, I don't think she'll accept!" The little boy pushed past them halting directly in front of me. Again, as I stared into those crimson orbs, the feeling of being smaller swept over me. A smile suddenly appeared on his young face, "You were that human." His small hand reached up towards my face, "The Tsukiyomi Child Turned you? Does that give you his abilities?" My whole body began trembling, my eyes were wide with fear and I couldn't breathe. He was suffocating me!? I couldn't move! I-

Ikuto roughly pulled me back, blocking the kid's hand. Sapphire eyes glared, only to grow wide with confusion. The blond's grin widened in anticipation. I gasped in blessed air as Ikuto started to shake as well. Shudders coursed through my body so violently my teeth chattered.

How was that little boy – a _child _– causing this? How was it _possible_? I stared at him in horror, seeing a frown grace his lips. A mocking smile replaced it as Ikuto – ever my picture of the strongest person I will ever know – fell to his knees, gripping at his sides with clawed-up fingers. But, honestly, how could we be _suffocating_? We don't even need to breathe! Yet now my vampiric blood screamed of oxygen starvation, deprived of the tasteless sweets.

"Leave us alone!"

A small hand was placed on my cheek.

Everything disappeared.

There was only this child and I. Everyone and everything else was lost to my mind. The blond beckoned soundlessly for me to come closer. After a moment of hesitation, I crossed the small space between us and kneeled at his feet. My eyes closed automatically when he placed a pale hand over them.

Dimly, I remembered witnessing this scene before. But the thought was quickly blown away when the child began speaking. His voice rang with authority, "I, the Gozen of Council, Hikaru, now form a Contract." His other hand tilted my chin up as he leaned down. A shiver ran through me as a sweet, greedy tongue licked at my neck. A sharp tooth grazed the flesh there, a thin drop blood forming at the small wound.

The rattling of a chain coiled around us.

My eyes flashed open and the trance snapped apart.

A scream was ripped from my throat. I hadn't meant to, I couldn't help it. I leaped back, tripping over Ikuto and Matt. I looked around the room in shock. Everyone was in close distance, yet none had reached out to help me.

Hikaru – that was the child's name – blinked in surprise. Not that I had screamed, but that the spell had been placed on him as well as me. I took a shuddering breath. Maybe this kid hadn't meant to do that. And as always, curiosity got the better of me. Do I never learn? Curiosity killed the kitten!

"Okay," My voice was way more normal than I had expected, "I'll help you…" Their faces lit up. I held up a hand before they could start thanking me, "But, there _is _a condition."

Rima nodded eagerly, "Of course! Anything!" I sighed, brushing off my shorts, "Mm…Okay. Here's what my condition is." Ikuto stumbled to his feet, squeezing my shoulder encouragingly, _Whatever you choose, I'll be there to back you up, love. _I shivered as his voice entered my mind. A pleasant shiver, I think.

I forced the words out of my mouth, "I accept as long as you behave in Vampire Rehab."

Rima blinked, expression uneasy, "Elaborate, please." Keiko stepped forward, keeping her distance from our visitors, "Whoa, whoa, hold on there, oh wise one." She put a hand to her hip, narrowing ruby eyes, "Since when do you call all the shots, Amu? Last time I checked, we didn't have a leader, let alone you. I remind you, you're the youngest of us. And we left all that shit behind with the Clans."

"I didn't ask you because this doesn't concern you." I snapped, surprising even myself. Her mouth hung agape, shocked that I had raised my voice. Quickly regaining her composure, Keiko clenched her hands to fists, "It doesn't concern me? It doesn't _concern me_!?" She flung her arms above her head, yelling angrily, "Oh, yeah, I must have forgotten! All hail the mighty Amu! The world revolves around her now!"

"What are you _getting _at?" I hardly noticed my pink aura growing brighter, let alone cared. "Well," she scoffed, "maybe the fact that you've been acting like a little bitch lately!"

"Keiko-chan…" Tadase looked worriedly back and forth, watching us carefully. She gestured to everyone, "While you've been out having snuggle time with that Guardian, we've been stalked and attacked by a humongous crow! Oh, and remind me, _who _was it that passed out while _we_ were chasing some creepy shape-shifter and _they _were ripping each others' throats out?! To top it all off, you have the _nerve _to agree to some stupid little pact with the _enemy_!"

Now tears slipped from her angry eyes as her shoulders sagged, "She's going to die now, you know. And all because you had to agree with that idiot for this _stupid_ vacation. You knew it, too, we all did, that this wasn't just to relax."

"It's not like I asked for this!" I half-growled. Her shoulders went rigid again, "Oh, really? You were the one who wanted to be a vampire! You _did _ask for this! You have no reason to complain, we _warned _you of all the regrets you would have!"

Tense silence hung in the air. So thick you could almost see it swirling around the room. I just wanted to run, crawl into a little ball and scream. But I couldn't, I was trapped here. And by my own decisions.

A groan cut through the silence, bringing us back to the current time.

Matt sat up, holding his head and squinting crimson eyes, "Ugh…what gives?" He suddenly froze, eyes wide. He glanced around the room in shock, finally coming to rest on me. He blinked rapidly, shakily standing, "What the…" He looked down at his hands, curling and uncurling his fingers.

I bit my lip at that, holding my breath while replaying that thought in my head. He was…_looking _down at his hands…? Ikuto pulled me back a bit as he ran from the room. In confusion, I followed after him across the hall. Matt walked briskly over to one of the beds, pulling the covers back a bit. I watched suspiciously as he simply stared for a few moments. Then the long still body moved.

Yuuki slowly inched her way into a sitting position staring blankly at her hands. Instead of the usual light caramel-brown color, her eyes were now a darker shade, almost black. Looking closer, they _were_ black.

Despite that, I excitedly ran over as well, smiling like an idiot, "You're okay! You _are _okay, right?" Her head slowly rose to look at me. She continued staring dully at me as Matt cautiously tucked a stray lock of hair behind her ear, "Hey, Yuuki…Oh, I know, you must be thirsty, huh?" He offered her his wrist.

I frowned, finally realizing that she had no aura. Not even a thin one. Nothing, nada.

Gingerly, Yuuki sniffed at the hand before gripping it and roughly pulling down. Instead of biting into his flesh, like I had expected, she leaned her cheek against his, closing her eyes, "…N…no blood."

"But it's been at least a day since you've last eaten-…" Matt tried to pull back but was kept in her grip as she ran her fingers through his hair. "I…don't need it."

"What do you mean 'you don't need it'?" I muttered. She didn't even glance in my direction, "I am not alive. I am not like you. I am dead." She fingered the button of his shirt, "The Conditions only stated to 'keep me walking in this world'. Quite the drama queen, aren't you?"

"B-but-…" He began trembling as Yuuki got the first button undone. She moved on to the next, "This body is simply a vessel. With all the vital parts dead, it's simply a prison for a portion of Yuuki Kawatta's soul. This is what you asked for, is it not?"

"No, no it's _not_…" Matt shook his head slowly. She shrugged, "Well, this is what you got. If you don't like it," – a suggestive grin – "simply get it over and done with. End another life with your own hands." Another button fell away.

An invisible hand suddenly grabbed me and shoved me through the door, shutting it tightly behind me. It pressed me to the floor, nearly crushing every bone in my body before vanishing as quickly as it had come. I didn't have long to get over the surprise when the door opened again. Matt shuffled out, head low so that his bangs covered his eyes, "Hey, Tadase, if someone has been dead for over an hour, could you heal them?"

"Sorry, no." Tadase helped me to my feet.

"Ah." He strode past us, "Then could you go start a bonfire on the beach?" The blond nodded, "Of course. Where are you going?"

"Hell."

I looked over to Ikuto. He nodded. I sighed, why can't life just be simple? Too many things are happening at once.

The blonde girl sighed, "Rima-san, we picked a bad time." The other girl nodded, "Yeah, we told you we shouldn't have come, Rima-san."

"Be quiet." Rima hissed, irritation replacing her earlier vulnerable expression. She whirled around to glare at Ikuto, hair falling like a curtain around her, "Good day, Tsukiyomi Child." The four visitors disappeared.

I didn't know what to do. Rubbing my arms, I wondered why I had to do anything. Maybe Keiko was right, I should just stay low for a while, let them handle things. As Ikuto put his hand on my shoulder, I didn't melt and cry into his arms like usual. I'd cried so much lately, I didn't think there were any tears left. There could only be so much until my eyes would run dry.

_What should we do? _His voice crept into my mind. I shook my head, I'm no leader, don't ask me. Besides, this isn't my problem. Let _him_ fix it. Ikuto stroked my hair, eyes soft and understanding, _That doesn't sound like you, love._

I'm tired. I just want to sleep and not wake up for a very long time.

TBC…

Suki: Gwaaah….

Yuuki: sorry if it's all rushed…

Suki: ANYYYYWAAAYYYS! GO TO THAT POLL! It's up on our FF page nyaaan!

Yuuki: *clears throat and pushes up fake glasses on nose* now, for an announcement!

Suki: *pushes own fake glasses up nose* oh, yes! Introduciiing~

Yuuki, Suki: *hold up big sign* KYUUKETSUKI DRABBLES! Coming to a FanFiction near you soon!

Everyone: ARIGATOU!


	16. Problematic

Chapter 16: Problematic

_I'm tired. I just want to sleep and not wake up for a very long time. _

XXXKUKAI'S POV

Miki tapped on my shoulder, "Have you seen Yoru?"

"He's with Ikuto again, remember?" I quickly closed the screen, wanting to keep my research to myself. She frowned, "No, Ikuto just called and said he wouldn't be home tonight. I asked for Yoru, he said he hadn't come with him."

"You don't think," I spun around slowly, careful not to say anything to scare her, "that…that he's like Dia and Daichi?" She was immediately scared anyways.

"But that's why we left Japan!" Miki began to chew on her thumb nail, "And when Dia disappeared, we moved away from Seattle."

"Hey, hey, it was just an idea. I might be wrong." I patted her hand, "He might just be out for a walk." She smiled wryly, "Mm-hmm, of course."

Neither of us believed it.

XXXAMU'S POV

"Do you think I'm acting any different?" I whispered, cuddling against Ikuto's chest. He kissed my forehead, "Of course you're _different_. I'm actually amazed you haven't gone _insane _like those Lunatics."

"I think we underestimated them." I looked up at sapphire eyes and changing the subject as easily as that, "I mean, if they managed to gain control of a Council member, that Kairi person, they must have been pretty strong." Ikuto shook his head, "Not really. Kairi was a Guard, like your little friends. Not the kind that chased us around with bombs, but like Lee. They stayed close enough to Gozen, but weren't in the Inner Circle like Lulu and Rima."

"And those two girls who had come with Rima?" I asked, running my thumb along his jaw bone. He looked thoughtful for a moment, "They…were in the Inner Circle. I'm pretty sure they were away when that new Gozen took over." His hand rested at my waist, "And when they got back they got Hikaru away from his hiding."

"But I don't understand what _we_ could do for them." My thumb traced his lips. Ikuto sighed, "Well, for one thing, Amulet seems to have an interest. So they thought that we must have some great Ability that could possibly help them. But they got it wrong. Amulet chases you because of your Grandmother." I closed my eyes as his face neared mine, "And you?"

"Hmm…?" Soft lips gently brushed against mine as he talked, sweet breath drowning me, "I'm the Tsukiyomi Child. Honestly, I'm not sure what she wants from me."

"Ikuto…" I pulled away slightly, "You know how I can see Auras and stuff?"

"Mm-hmm."

"You're surrounded by chains. They're blue and swirl around you. They attacked me once."

He sat up urgently, hands on my shoulders, "Why didn't you tell me before?"

"Well, they don't seem to do much. I didn't think you'd care if your aura was made of ch-"

"I attacked you?! I could've killed you!" Ikuto hissed, gripping my shoulders and shaking me a bit, "I could've killed you without even knowing I did! As a Guardian-…" His eyes widened, quickly letting me go, "I-I…sorry…" I flinched, shaking my head, "It's fine."

"You should keep your distance for a while." He got to his feet, voice growing cold and distant, "While you're at it, I think you should learn to use your Aura to protect yourself. Go visit Kukai sometime."

I was about to follow when I caught a glimpse of myself in the mirror. I stared at my shoulders in the reflection, claw marks stretched around where he had just touched, blood flowing steadily from the wounds.

_I could've killed you without even knowing I did! As a Guardian-…_

_While you've been out having snuggle time with that Guardian, we've been stalked and attacked by a humongous crow!_

Keiko had called the Black Cat-san a 'Guardian.' And now Ikuto just called himself one as well. I touched one of the scratches, bringing the drop of blood to my mouth, I've never seen Ikuto's animal either, plus he reminded me of a cat.

The drop of blood slid down my throat as I closed my eyes. Maybe they know each other.

_**You're so clueless.**_

Get out of my head.

The connection died as soon as I thought the sentence. I was sure he hadn't wanted to do so. My eyes opened to see my aura stitching the wounds on my shoulders. I wasn't sure whether to be excited or frightened.

I chose indifference and left the room.

XXXTADASE'S POV

The deer continued chewing on grass as I crouched low to the ground, arms by my sides while I crept forward. Just a few more steps…a few more steps…

At that moment, the wind decided to change directions, leaving the large animal downwind. It raised its head and stared wide-eyed. I lashed forward but missed, veering around a large tree. Giving up a mere three seconds into the chase, I muttered a few curses under my breath. Today had been a long, confusing and tiring day. Now it was drawing to a close and I had still not eaten a thing.

In two days.

After everything that we'd been through and survived, I didn't find starvation a very satisfying method of death. Sliding down against the thick bark of a tree, I sat on the damp ground. My eyes opened slowly, that didn't make sense. It hadn't rained since we'd arrived. Looking down into a scarlet puddle, I didn't have time to react to seeing the reflection of the person above me before it struck.

A quick blow to the back of the skull and I was down, disoriented and coughing up rivets of blood. A woman leaned over me, grinning wickedly, "You'll tell me where Kitty-man is now."

XXXNAGIHIKO'S POV

As consciousness slowly took over me, I could only sense one thing. My head was _killing _me. Awaking to harsh lights, I sat up and examined the room. I gasped as something – someone's – emotions rammed into the room like a herd of red-seeing bulls.

It was rage, anger at themselves. And blood lust, bloodlust for the one person they could not kill.

I took a shuddering breath, trying to calm myself enough to think rationally. Which was hard with this pounding headache. But I gradually I managed to expand my senses until I located the onslaught-er. They were moving quickly, at speeds humans would not be able to reach, even in a car if they were to obey the speed limit.

Someone shook my shoulder and I was brought back to the room. Tsukiyomi Ikuto gazed down with unforgiving eyes, "Where is he?"

"Where is- who?" I cleared my throat, slightly embarrassed that my throat cracked in front of him – though I wasn't sure why. His face remained expression-less, "Do you not keep track of your dogs?"

"My…dog…?" I pulled away from his hand, "I don't remember telling _you _about that conversation." Tsukiyomi ran his hand along my arm, blood sprouting from where he touched, "Doesn't matter, I know things. Tell me where he is."

"But you don't know where he is. You don't know things." I didn't bother to pull away as claws raked slowly and almost gently across my forehead.

"You dare deny a Guardian of his request?"

"Why do you need him, then? Answer my question or I won't answer yours."

He leaned closer, lips brushing my neck as he spoke, "Once you step into Hell, you are damned to spend eternity there. No exceptions. I vow to enforce this law at the cost of my life. I vow to enforce this law at the cost of my beloved."

The world spiraled into darkness again, and I wonder if I'll ever be allowed to wake up for good.

XXXAMU'S POV

As I sipped at a juice bottle, I realized I was alone in the suite with the exception of Suki. The blonde was in her room, gathering the rest of Yuuki's things to burn in the fire on the beach. It'll be like she never existed, I grimaced, remembering the words Tadase had said before leaving.

_We need to erase every trace of her existence. Or else deal with the consequences of a murder accusation over our heads. _

I shivered, the memory of dumping a corpse into fire and having the stench of rotting flesh in my nostrils still clear in my mind. It had been anything but pleasant. Maybe it's just me, but I don't exactly put that in the fun category. We all have different hobbies, after all.

A small pale hand was suddenly placed in my line of vision. I caught a glimpse of blonde hair and nearly screamed. Hikaru, the contract! "I refuse!"

Suki blinked confused blue eyes, "Huh? I didn't say anything yet."

"S-sorry…I was spaced out…" Gasping in air, I tried, and failed, to smile reassuringly. She nodded, suspiciously, "Uh-huh. Anyways, I'm gonna go burn this."

I nodded as she headed towards the door. Suki paused before stepping out, not bothering to spare me a glance, "Amu, Keiko hadn't meant what she said. Not really, about you being self-centered all the time. She just doesn't remember her first few years as a vamp, ya know? You draw people to you, and they listen, a lot. Now…I'm talking too much. Just…I wouldn't trust Tsukiyomi so much. He doesn't have much self-control sometimes."

I was left alone in the suite. Sighing, I turned to put the cup in the sink. Thankfully, I managed not to scream as Hikaru really _did _appear there.

He stared at me with eerie crimson orbs, "A contract is a pact between a vampire and another. The vampire grants any wish and gives protection in exchange for blood and eternal servitude – in this life and the next." Hikaru recited this as if it was a school speech, "The contractor shall know if the other is in danger and must protect him or her. While if the other ever attempts to betray their Master, severe consequences shall befall him or her. There is no known way to break a contract. The Master may make as many contracts as wanted, and may take on their own Master. Though if they do, they keep the Slaves they already have but may not make any more Contracts. Therefore any Slaves may not make another contract, for this is considered an act of betrayal. Less important information is that Lovers often make contracts to ensure loyalty. And the Slave's blood will give its Master a very powerful strength boost after every feeding."

I ignored the Lovers bit, pretty sure that wasn't much a concern. "So, what about the whole kneeling thing?" The young blond flipped some hair from his eyes, "The standard procedure. Though another ritual indicated the bindings of the Master and Slave both mentally and physically. Like I said, Lovers often enjoyed participating in Contracts-"

"Oi, oi! I get it!" A blush heated my cheeks, bright as strawberries. To hear such implications from such a young mouth…Though I guess Hikaru must be much older than me. Or Ikuto. Or even Aruto-san. My face grew hotter, a Contract between lovers, huh…?

I shook my head roughly, as if that could stop my imagination from running wild. It worked to a certain extent. The image disappeared before it really began. But I did learn one thing. Ikuto would look _good_, even in nothing but unicorn boxers. Where that came from I did not know. I was pretty sure he didn't wear unicorn boxers…pretty sure.

Hikaru continued staring at me, "I'm surprised I didn't know about these Contracts. It would have made these past few months so much simpler." I nodded, "Yeah, maybe I could've done something to stop this…" Again, _I _would've done something? What gives? The blond looked around the room, "She has left, you know."

"Who? Suki? Yeah, she went to go burn some stuff on the beach." I gestured towards the floor-to-ceiling-window. He shook his head, "The silver-haired one, with rose-colored eyes."

"Keiko…?"

Hikaru nodded, "You should go find her, before the, as you call them, Lunatics do."

The suite was left completely devoid of company a moment later. A mere second after that, it was left utterly empty save for a squished bug in the corner.

TBC…

(Word Count: 2054)

Yuuki: you…burned my body…

Suki: and your ashes

Yuuki: …what kind of friend are you? ._.

Suki: the awesome kind! XD

Yoru: review if you want to save Tadase from the Lunatics!

Tadase: *sulks in corner* oh please, now NOBODY will review

Utau: … *eating an apple* Review if you want Tadase to die

Ikuto: …

Computer: you have mail

Suki: *opens e-mail*

Review Alert: BWAHAHAHAHAHAHA! DIE!

Gon123abc: *grins wickedly* MWAHAHAHA! That's right, I SAID it! MWAHAHAHAHA!

Everyone: ARIGATOU!


	17. Price

Chapter 17: Price

_The suite was left completely devoid of company a moment later. A mere second after that, it was left utterly empty save for a squished bug in the corner. _

XXX

I wasn't sure what to do; Hikaru hadn't left me any clue as to where Keiko might be. So I wandered around the beach, walking towards the fire Suki must still be at.

This wasn't very productive, but it was the most I could do at the moment. My mind drifted towards our dead friend. I had felt upset, of course, at losing her. But I wasn't stricken with grief like I had thought I would be. I was probably taking it the lightest.

But I should have been the most hurt. It was my fault, after all, that Yuuki was gone. I should have tried harder, to get Nagihiko to stop. I know I could have. But I hadn't thought that he would actually drain her nearly dry. My thoughts went back to that night, to Nagihiko's terrifying crimson eyes. Crimson with _her _blood.

I wonder what happened with the box of videos and such Amulet gave to him. Had he watched them all? And remembered the Childhood he had longed to remember?

Were there even video cameras back then? The question had floated past my consciousness many times, the answer eagerly avoiding me. But there wasn't really a point to figuring it out, the videos were and that was that. It was how things were and are.

"Hey, Amu." Suki murmured as I arrived. She was sitting on the sand, arms resting against her knees as she watched the fire, back towards me, "I can't do it."

"Do what?" I eyed the bag lying next to her. She turned to me, tears sliding from sky blue eyes, "I can't do it. I want to keep it. Oh, Amu, why can't I keep it?"

"Tadase said-"

"I don't care what Tadase said." She turned back towards the fire, "What if I don't care about having a murder charge on my shoulders? I've killed before, for the Council. It doesn't matter much to me. I've dealt with this type of thing before, I'll be fine."

"That doesn't make killing a person right."

"But I didn't kill her. I didn't actually kill her. I wasn't even there. So it doesn't matter if the police think I did. I can take it for everyone. Say you were there, a witness, say I did it. Say I did it because I wanted money or some other petty human thing. I just don't want to erase her."

"This is America. We only have temporary visas, I can't even speak English." I reminded her, not sure what it had to do with a murder charge but pretty sure it would be an annoyance.

"I don't care." Suki repeated, "I don't care…some of us will never leave Florida anyways. We're going to die. No – first we'll be separated, then we'll die." She shook, holding her head with her hands, "I hate this, I don't want to see it anymore! Every since Matt showed us those tickets, it's been replaying over and over, like a bad song on the radio!"

I sat down beside the blonde, helplessly staring at the ashes and burning clothes in the sand, "I'm sorry."

"After she's dead," Suki peeked up at me through her fingers, "I'm leaving. It's not official, her death, so I'll sit at the airport until it happens. If she escapes, you won't see her anyways. Though her dying is much more likely than her survival. Tell them I murdered the both of them, if she dies, and that now I'm on the run. I'm running for Italy, tell them, even though I'm not. The authorities, I mean. Say Hanashi Suki killed them."

"Don't-"

"And I'll take their stuff with me. I'll even stop by at the house in Japan to get everything. But I'll make a copy of that picture, that picture we took when we moved into the new house, of all of us. And leave it for you guys. I'll destroy the records the school has and tell them they moved. Even though it doesn't matter, we went under different names. You guys don't have to worry about it."

"Suki-"

"I'll check the three of us out of the suite before leaving. But…" Suki pulled something out of her pocket, placing it in my hand and closing my fingers around it, "Give this back to him. I took it off her before we burned her."

"But, listen! We'll figure something out, you don't have to leave and-"

"The Kawatta Clan," She whispered, "Is now officially destroyed. Our brother clan, the Fujisaki Clan, is not that far behind. Over half a century has been enough for me."

"I can't change your mind." It wasn't a question. She nodded solemnly, hold on my hands tightening, "And, Amu?"

"Yeah?"

"Save them. Save the Angels and then return to where it began. If we, you and I, survive this, then I'll be waiting there, and I'll bring him with me. Maybe I'll bring her back, too."

I wasn't sure who she was talking about, or even where. Angels? Return to where it began? Him, her? I smiled, "Okay, then it's a promise."

We waited until the fire died before standing. Grabbing the bag, Suki walked away without a goodbye. I took a deep breath, salty air cool and refreshing. I hadn't noticed the sky darkening, and now the moon was high above me. I reached my hand towards this, imagining scooping up a handful of stars.

Fallen Angels, huh? I smiled again, was that what they call the damned now?

(A.n. - _Suki: _-A- Ne, Yuuki? You totally killed my plot with your drama _Yuuki: _^-^ _Suki: _wasn't it supposed to be Matt in this conversation? Because 'him' was supposed to be Nagi -_- _Yuuki: _you give Matt way too much spotlight time, don't worry, I thought the plot through and changed a few things to make this fit _Suki: _._. But I'm waaaay out of character!)

Turning on heel, I walked briskly in a seemingly random direction. I knew it would lead me to my destination.

XXXTADASE'S POV

I tried to stretch a cramp in my arm but found I couldn't move. Opening my eyes tiredly, I froze, realizing why. I was chained to a wall by my wrists, high above my head, and sitting on the cold, dusty ground. The room was a basement of some sort, dark and frightening.

Whimpering was coming from beside me. I turned my head slightly, finding a trembling Yoru a few feet away. He was also chained to the wall, muttering over and over something unintelligible. I cleared my throat, catching his attention, "Where are we?"

"I don't know," Yoru whispered, wide eyes brimmed with tears, "B-but it's like being back there when Lulu and Lee kidnapped us."

"What's wrong?" I sniffed, the place reeked of blood, but not of his. The tears spilled from his eyes, "I-I found D-D-Dia." I slowly turned my head, finding the source of the blood. Twisted at multiple impossible angles, Dia stared up at the ceiling in anguish, a silent scream accompanying her wide, glassy unseeing eyes. Bile rose in my throat, "T-that…."

A door opened and closed, a man with black hair entering the room. A girl was being pushed forward, and they halted in front of us. Keiko smiled sourly at us, "Hey, guys…"

The man, with red-tipped hair, grinned as well, "Now, I have a question which you will answer. What is the Tsukiyomi Child's Ability?" He turned to Yoru, "Hmm?"

"I-Ikuto doesn't have an Ability!" Yoru stuttered, realizing the question was directed at him, "And if he does, h-he's never told me!" The man made a buzzer imitation, placing his hands softly around Keiko's neck, "Wrong answer. And you?" He turned towards me.

"But he's telling the truth! I guess if Amulet's been after him, he must have one! But I don't know what it is or if it's even real!"

Rose-colored eyes widened as his grip tightened, "I give you one last chance. Give me the answer I want, or girlie loses her head – permanently, of course."

"It's Protection, Shii-sama." A voice answered him, appearing at the door, even though it had not opened again. Keiko stumbled forward as she was released, nearly running into the wall. Matt strode towards us, "Are you okay?"

"Never better." She muttered, rubbing her throat, "Though I'd rather be anywhere else, wouldn't you?"

Shii lifted an eyebrow, "I don't recall summoning you here, pet." He received a golden glare, "You lied. You said you would save her and you lied!"

"I saved her body from Death." The man grinned sadistically, "Of course, I could have simply given some of my blood…" Matt spun, aiming a punch at his face, "Basterd-"

With easiness and swiftness, Shii caught the fist, pushing the smaller vampire against the wall, "Now, now, Slave, don't you mean to say 'Master'?" He struggled, trying to keep his head low and covering a pale neck, "Forget that crap!"

"Hmm, I can tell you're the type who just begs for punishment. Which gives me an idea." Another sadistic smile, "As your punishment for attempting to injure your contractor, kill this girl." He gestured to Keiko with a nod. Matt hissed as his fist was pried open, the man's fingers sliding between his, "I won't."

"What a bad Slave. I _could _just influence you to do so, but what would be the fun in that?" A thoughtful moment, "Actually, that _would _be quite entertaining."

"Go to Hell." He spat, resuming his struggling. Shii sighed, "Been there, done that, not even worth it." The man yanked down with his hand, spinning the boy like he weighed nothing, and pressing his face to the wall, "Would it convince you more if we went about the Contract the second method? Though I much prefer my Lady Slaves in that aspect."

"You're _sick_."

"I consider myself quite healthy." Shii backed up as he went limp, sliding to the floor. Matt kneeled on the ground, pressing his forehead to the floor, "Then, _Master_, I beg you to allow Yoru leave, unscathed, and not to be hunted down again." A cruel smile adorned the man's lips, "Hmm, of course, since it seems you have found your position." He gestured to Yoru and the chains came undone.

Yoru stole a glance around before dashing out the door, up the stairs and surely away from wherever we were. Matt crawled closer, pressing his forehead to a black-clad foot, "Then, Master, I wish it that you allow the rest of them to leave, unscathed, and not be hunted down again."

"For every wish there is a price to pay and that is technically three wishes, triple the price."

"There are only two of them."

"_Au contraire_, pet." Another gesture to the other side of the room. Amulet strode out of the shadows, an unconscious figure over her shoulder.

"Then, _Master_, here's my payment." Matt lifted his head, staring angrily up at Shii, "However much blood you want, for those two. And all the information about the Tsukiyomi Child that I know for him."

Amulet swung Nagihiko off her shoulder, keeping hands on his shoulders to make him stand upright, "We could simply look it up. You said it was called Protection, child."

"It's not in any books." He snapped, then caught his tongue, "It's rare enough not to be recorded. I know the name of the only other living user. And it's not recorded because they took an oath not to reveal their secrets, or someone could push their buttons to makes _them _Slaves."

Shii shook his head, "Blood for the blond one." The chains disappeared from my wrists. I sat there, in quite a daze and unable to notice that I was free to leave.

"Information for _one_ of the others. After all, your blood belongs to _me_ already, no matter what. _And_ for the wish of safety, kill the other one."

In my spaced out trance, I wondered who _I_ would pick in this situation. It seems easier to pick Keiko, because Nagihiko was unconscious and wouldn't feel a thing – probably.

I came back to reality as someone was thrown into my arms. Realizing I'd missed the answer, I bolted out the door, barely registering the Nagihiko I was carrying. And defiantly not thinking hard enough to figure out the response given. I thought I passed Ikuto on my run, but figured it was just my mind playing tricks on me.

Maybe.

XXXAMU'S POV

A sigh escaped my lips, walking through the trees. I, somehow, knew I would find my destination soon. Though I wasn't sure if I would like it or not. And just like that, I saw Tadase running right towards me. He skidded to a halt mere inches from where I stood, "Amu-chan…"

My gaze was drawn towards Nagihiko's unconscious face, "Where's Keiko?" Realization took over his features, he gulped, "I…I guess she's dead."

"What do you mean, you _guess she's dead_?!"

_After she's dead, I'm leaving_

I could almost feel the plane take off from the ground at that moment. So 'she' had been Keiko. Tadase's eyes were wide, "I'm starting to wonder if there will be any of us left by Christmas."

Another problem, great. Christmas was twelve days away and I hadn't even thought about everyone's presents. Though I guess I'll have to buy two less than I had been planning on. I had no idea what to do now.

_Go visit Kukai sometime._

What was that about? What could Kukai possibly teach me about my own ability?

"Amu-chan, I think we should help Mashiro-san. We could use the allies."

"Yeah, but I think we should all get a say on it." All of us? There was no one left! Yuuki and Keiko were dead, Suki was running away and Nagihiko was unconscious. Besides that, Matt and that Shii person had made that contract, so he probably won't be much help. There was practically only Tadase and I left in our group.

_No, I'm the idiot. I'm the idiot because I'm in love with the Hinamori Amu._

It didn't seem like Hinamori Amu existed anymore.

Now there was only Amu left. And how long would that last?

Oh, Ikuto, I'm so confused.

TBC…

(Final Word Count: 2414)

Yuuki: Hmmm…

Suki: yup

Yuuki: oh, Ikuto, I'm so confused too -.-'

Everyone: ARIGATOU!


	18. Starvation

Chapter 18: Starvation

_Oh, Ikuto, I'm so confused._

XXX

I was so disoriented that the rest of the week flew by until I fully began to register things again. We had checked out of the hotel and were now living in a small house. It was a cozy little place, though I found myself missing our house back in Japan.

Somehow, Rima had gotten the message that we accept and tomorrow was the day they were going to move in for good.

I was lying on my new bed, staring at the blank ceiling above me. It was dark outside and everyone had long ago retreated to their rooms. At the moment, it was only Tadase, Matt, Nagihiko, and I living here. Rima, her two companions and Hikaru were soon to join us.

Nagihiko still hasn't awakened and I was starting to wonder if vampires could go into a coma. The concept was new and strange. Just like everything else that was happening.

But for the most part, things had slowed down greatly. Though I knew it wouldn't last much longer.

Ikuto hadn't visited as often lately, and I hadn't had the patience to go pay Kukai a visit.

The door creaked open a bit and then quietly shut again. I turned my head to see Matt standing nervously there. He sighed, "Amu…" I started slightly as arms were flung around my shoulders, locking me in a tight embrace. His face was right in front of mine, and he had…sapphire eyes…

"Ikuto?" I muttered, confused. He smiled sadly, "Yo."

"Uh…"

"I'm too worried to come see you personally. This was the…safer method."

"By possessing Matt?"

"Exactly."

"…Weird."

"Of course."

I breathed in the familiar minty scent, wishing for Ikuto to truly be here. He sighed, stepping back but close enough to stroke my face, "Amu, it's weak."

"What is?"

"The connection."

"Japanese, please."

A half-hearted chuckle, "Hmm…See this?" He pointed to the skin beneath a sapphire eye. I nodded, "What about it?"

"A wrinkle."

"…Oh, God no, Matt has a wrinkle!" I pretended to faint, falling back on my bed and draping a hand across my face, "This is…this is tragic. It truly is."

"Not that."

I peeked through my fingers, hearing irritation start to drip into his voice. Matt- er…Ikuto, frowned, "You _have_ noticed the physical changes in yourself since way back when." After a moment of thought, my eyes widened in realization, "Oh, yeah…" He nodded, "Every blemish, scar, even body hair, has disappeared from your body. Wrinkles, and other defects like that, are gone. If you had a disability or a shattered bone, you would be healed. You also burn off any excess fat. It's part of being an Immortal."

"So…"

"When was the last time you took Matt hunting with you guys?"

I remained silent. Ikuto sighed for the nth time, "That's what I thought. Age is catching up because he hasn't fed." Sadness, with possibly a bit of jealousy thrown in there, began to creep into me, "Wait…is that the reason you came here?"

A quick nod, expressionless face hardening, "I still believe you should keep away from me for a while."

"That's not fair."  
"I'm not fair."

"I miss you."

"As do I."

"Ikuto…" Tears pricked at my eyes as sapphire disappeared. Gold rolled back as Matt tipped forward, landing on the corner of the bed with a quiet thump. I willed the tears away, crawling over and pulling his head onto my lap. Tapping his cheek, I murmured, "Hey, wake up." Finally, the boy stirred, staring up at me with tired golden pools.

That's another thing, he can _see_ now.

"You haven't been eating." I accused, getting to the point quickly. Matt shook his head slightly, if you could even call it a motion, "So?"

"You'll die."

"I don't care."

"We should go out right now and find some deer or something."

"Don't want to." He closed his eyes again, taking a deep breath as if talking tired him out, "Ikuto was here, wasn't he?"

"Don't try to change the topic."

"But he was, wasn't he?"

"Technically, yes. Now get up, we're going hunting."

"No can do, Amu dear." Matt snuggled closer to my stomach, staring up at me again, "I refuse."

"Then you'll answer my questions. Your choice."

I took his silence as a sign I should continue, "You made a contract."

"Yes."

"You're actually going to answer me truthfully?"

"As best I can."

That was new. Usually I would have gotten a, 'and if I did?' or 'who knows?' or some other type of question that wasn't quite a yes or no. I chewed on my lip, "Huh. Okay, then is your 'Master' named Shii?"

"Sadly, yes."

"Why'd you do it?"

"I wanted to save her…"

"I meant your eyes."

"I hadn't asked for that. I said 'For Yuuki to continue walking the Earth so we can see her' because he would have twisted my words if I'd just said to allow her to live. I didn't mean that I wanted my sight back. I guess he ended up twisting words anyways."

"Why Shii?" The name left my lips easily, it didn't feel right not to put anything after the name when I knew so little about this person. But it felt wrong to add a 'san' or a 'kun' or anything.

"I don't know. Who else was there? Nobody's strong enough, I couldn't ask Tsukiyomi Ikuto, or Aruto-san. Souko-san neither. Amulet would probably do it, but her motives…"

"Her motives?"

"She…Amu, we're all going to die, aren't we?"

"No." An image of Suki flashed to my mind again. _No, first we'll separate, then we'll die. _Had she meant that someone was after us, one by one? Matt looked up, hands clasping around his ears, "Stop thinking."

"I can't do that." I laughed awkwardly, attempting to keep a blank mind. I wasn't very good at it. So, instead, I decided to think about some trivial thing. Like clouds.

Clouds are soft-looking…and pale…and round and fluffy.

But when there's a storm coming, and the wind is blowing them softly through the sky, there's an electrical feeling in the air. Until the rain falls, and there's thunder and lightning. It's frightening, but when it's over, there's a peaceful calm. As the angry clouds regain composure, blue peeks out and the sun shines. It's lovely.

Clouds are a lot like Ikuto.

A lot of people I know are like the clouds.

Golden fox-like eyes gazed up at mine, wide in a childish way as his mouth twisted. I lifted an eyebrow, "…Are you crying?"

"No."

"…Are you _about _to?"

"Don't know."

I glanced out the window, watching the moon high in the sky, "Hmm…I wonder if we're getting close to the end."

"It's barely begun, Amu dear."

"You all confuse me." I took a deep breath, closing my eyes, "You say things like that, like you all know what's gonna happen but then the next second you act just as confused as everyone else. It's like a bad joke that only I don't get."

"_To all the damned, she takes flight. She'll come to you, to spread this blessed curse of a light._" Matt whispered, slowly getting to his feet. A frown found its way to my face, "Another part of the Amulet poem? Doesn't seem to fit."

"No," He reached, the door, pulling it behind him. A pause, "It's yours." The door closed.

XXXNORMAL POV

"How lovely." Rima practically purred, inspecting the large room that was now theirs. The other blonde tossed her bag onto one of the beds, unsheathing the katana and wiping at it with a cloth, "Well, Rima-sama, now what?" The white-haired girl jumped onto the second bed, "Mm-hmm. Instead of chilling out here, not that I don't like it, we should be out cutting down rouges and loners."

"Chika's got a point there, Rima-sama." ShikiTi gestured to the room, "This really necessary?" Rima pulled out a cell phone, "Of course it's necessary. It's necessary for the protection of Gozen-dono."

Hikaru enters and examines the room, "So this is what poverty has done." The girls didn't point out that this house was only a few floors short of a mansion.

"Okay, it's my turn to go out and exterminate the rouges." Chika hopped off the bed, sliding the window open, "Ten, right?"

"Ten."

"See ya." She jumped to the ground, running off without anyone else noticing. Rima sighed, pocketing the phone, "Tomorrow, let's show Amu what we need her help with."

"Of course."

TBC…

(Final Word Count: 1427)

Suki: Heheheh…Well, I'm bored

Yuuki: Same

Suki: Heeeeey…does anyone even read this anymore? D: I feel so alooooone! We get like…one or two reviews now…

Everyone: ARIGATOU!


	19. Training

Chapter 19: Training

"_Of course."_

XXXAMU'S POV

_I padded quickly through the forest, ignoring the trees and the auras they radiated. I didn't want to spend the night alone in Aruto's meadow, or wandering around. I wanted to see the Black Cat-san. And I wanted answers. _

_As per usual, he was crouched above the water, staring at it with emotionless sapphire eyes. He looked up as I approached, "Nyan." The injuries that he had received before were completely healed now. I almost believed I had imagined the whole thing. But it was hard to do that now, now that I knew so much of what had seemed impossible. _

_I pondered on whether I should try easing into the accusation, but even as ideas began to formulate in my mind, my lips were moving with words spilling from them. _

"_Listen, I want the truth. Ikuto, it's you, isn't it?" I blurted out quickly, before he could turn away. There was a moment of complete silence. The soft breeze stopped and the waves stilled. He hissed, ears flattening against his skull. I took a step back, "W-what?"_

_The lake's water began to edge towards us, somehow growing larger._

"_I told you to stay away!" He yelled, advancing on me as the waves crept closer, "I told you not to come near me!" For the first time I could remember, it began to rain. It wasn't like normal rain, where it would begin as a small drizzle and then gradually grow to a down pour. Here, it all came down at once like someone had put a million buckets above our heads and dumped them at the same time. There was no warning. _

_Black Cat-san – Ikuto – hissed, whirling around to face the incoming wave. His fur was now drenched as his form glittered darkly._

I awakened with a cry, jolting to a sitting position. Sapphire eyes were placed directly in front of my face, glaring harshly, "I'm not allowed in Aruto's meadow. I'm not allowed to speak. I'm not allowed to interact with others. I'm only allowed to Protect the Secrets. I'm not even allowed to tell you this." Ikuto's lip began to tremble as he scrunched his eyes shut, voice wavering, "Now I've broken them all."

"Ikuto-"

"Shut up."

My eyes widened as he roughly gripped my shoulders, "Ikuto, wh-"

"Shut up." He growled, lunging forward. A squeak escaped my lips as he crushed his mouth to my own. I wasn't sure what to do, it wasn't as if Ikuto and I kissed very often. Actually, the times we kissed could be counted with one hand. And this wasn't like Ikuto, he was always a very gentle person, despite his outwards 'bad boy' appearance.

Something sharp pierced my bottom lip as he nibbled on it, a drop of blood trickling down my chin. I shuddered pleasantly, feeling the sweet liquid run against my tongue. Which was strange, because it was my own. My eyes snapped open as I roughly shoved him away, alarmed. Blood gushed from Ikuto's mouth as he began coughing.

"Amu-chan?" Tadase knocked on the door twice before pushing it open, "Why does it reek of blood- Nii-san!" He rushed towards us as our beloved gasped, holding his sides.

I wasn't sure what happened next. We hurried about, trying to keep the blood from getting everywhere. Sometime in the middle of Ikuto's coughing fit, Rima and ShikiTi appeared at the doorway. Hikaru pushed past them and stared, expression giving away nothing.

"I'm okay." Ikuto took another deep, shuddering breath, his whole body trembling with the effort. A frown was set deeper to my face, "You don't look okay to me." Hikaru approached us slowly, a tinge of curiosity in his crimson eyes, "How strange."

I turned to face him, "What?"

"His blood. It smells different." The blond clarified. Tadase handed Ikuto another towel, "So it's not just my imagination?" Ikuto looked up at me pleadingly, "Go visit him."

XXX

"EH?"

Kukai cringed, sliding his chair away from me, "I didn't want any of us to get accidently hurt because of Ikuto. The guy has a lot on his guilty conscious already, y'know?"

I slammed my palms on the desk between us, "Kukai, you are an _idiot_! If it's taken me _this _long to do _anything_ with _my _ability, of_ course _you wouldn't be able to control it!" He held his hands up in surrender, "Hey, you never told _me _about your Ability. How was I supposed to know?"

His room was a mess. Everything was strewn across the floor. There were large holes in the ceiling and the wall now had a window into the backyard. I wasn't sure what sort of technique he had attempted to inflict this chaos, but I was sure it wasn't pretty.

Kukai spun away, opening a file on his computer, "Okay, so, you wanna try your luck at it? Here are the notes and stuff I took." I scanned over the words, trying to make sense of it all. "Why would you want to try and make a sandwich with your aura?"

"Hey, it would come in handy!" He defended, turning green eyes on me, "But that's not the point. So maybe aura-wielding-stuff isn't my thing. I'll stick to _my_ Ability. But it sure would benefit _you _to learn this stuff." I nodded, "Fine. You have a point. What should I do first?"

"Get a breath mint or gum or _something_." Kukai waved his hand in front of his nose, grinning. My hand shot to my mouth as I blushed, "That's _not _funny."

"Neither is bloody breath. Anywho, try focusing your entire aura to one point of your body. Like your eyes, ears, or even your fist."

I pouted, going over to the middle of the room. I stood with my feet at shoulder width, arms hanging loosely at my sides and lips slightly parted. Shutting my eyes, I focused on sensing the light around me. It swirled in wisps, slightly cool and slightly warm. I took a calming breath, imagining the pink light dancing towards my ears. It pricked at my ear lobes as I strained to make it move. I gasped, falling to my knees. The light retreated back to its original placement.

Kukai clapped softly, "Well, you did better than my first try."

"Huh? I did terrible!" I flailed my arms miserably. He shrugged, "At least you didn't punch a hole through the wall with a sandwich."

XXXNORMAL POV

Tadase retreated back to his room as Ikuto left. The blond ran a hand through his golden locks, completely exhausted from running around the whole day. Matt leaned against the wall, watching him unlock the door, "So, Amu dear is staying at the Tsukiyomi's?"

"Yeah." Tadase pushed the door open, not bothering to shut it as he shuffled inside. Matt nodded, "It would have been so much better if she had done that from the beginning."

"Don't say that." The blond complained, sitting on the bed, "You can't possibly mean that."

"And if I do?"

"You don't." Frowning, Tadase fingered the pillow case set to his side, "You don't."

"Saying it twice doesn't make it true, Tase-chan."

Tadase closed his eyes, willing himself to go to sleep without actually lying down, "I'm tired."

"Then rest."

His eyelids fluttered halfway open to see the other's face mere inches from his, "I have to wait for Amu-chan…to…come…" Matt smiled wryly, "Don't bother, Ta-se-chan. We're better off without her here."

"Don't say that," Tadase slowly sank to his side, "You don't mean that…"

"I do."

"You don't." He sighed, breathing becoming even as he fell asleep. Matt took a step back, indifferently shifting his weight to one leg, "Shii-sama."

The man appeared at the foot of the bed, grinning broadly, "Well done. You learn quickly."

"Hypnosis isn't very complex." He answered evenly, narrowing his eyes to golden slits, "I would know." Shii nodded, "Of course, my little kitsune." Silence hung in the air, neither awkward nor comfortable. Matt sighed, "You're still here."

"Obviously. You seem pale, maybe you've caught cold." Shii advanced quietly, licking at his lips, "Make a wish." The other raised an eyebrow, "I don't want anything."

"Oh?" He placed his hand on his chin, "Are you sure?"

"How persistent." Matt wrenched his face away, "You dying or something? Have it your way, I wish for those Lunatics to die tonight. There's your challenge. It annoys me to have to see them every day."

"As you wish."

XXX

Ikuto stifled a yawn, stumbling across the streets. It was pretty much deserted at this time of night, save for the occasional car or homeless person. He sighed in exasperation, finally whirling around, "Quit following me!"

"Oh, Jack, we've made kitty man angry!" A feminine voice giggled. Jack leaped down from a tree, "Now, now, what have I told you? Don't play with your food."

A chain clinked through the air.

Kate stepped out from the shadows, giggling crazily, "You never told me that."

The chain crept closer.

"Oh, of course. Who gives a damn about-" He never got a chance to finish his sentence. Two short screams echoed through the empty streets, accompanied with a tinkling of metal.

TBC…

(Final Word Count: 1531)

Suki: Dun…dunn…duuuuuuun

Yuuki: …wow, I can't believe you actually finished an outline *stares at notebook*

Suki: no just ANY outline! THE OUTLINE! Of Kyuuketsuki Ichigo! WHOOOO!

Yuuki: …can you guys tell where we got stuck and left it alone for days?

Suki: try to figure it out in the next five seconds it takes you to read this.

Yuuki: well, it was at the kissing part. Yaah…..I suck at writing that sort of stuff….

Suki: *raises arm* I has never been kissed by a dude before! BWAHAHAHAHAHA! I have not kissed them either…*dances*

Everyone: ARIGATOU!


	20. Kawaita sakebigoe ga kikoeta

Chapter 20: Kawaita sakebigoe ga kikoeta

"_Oh, of course. Who gives a damn about-" He never got a chance to finish his sentence. Two short screams echoed through the empty streets, accompanied with a tinkling of metal._

XXXAMU'S POV

"Oi, Hinamori, up and at 'em!"

I groaned, squinting up at Kukai, "Huh? What time is it?" He shook his head, "It's 9 in the morning." Nine in the morning…

"Crap!" I shot out of the bed, running around to pick up my shoes, "I fell asleep! Why didn't you wake me up! Who knows what they'll do to the house with Rima there!" Hurrying down the steps, Kukai followed after me.

"Hinamori?"

"Yeah?" I looked over my shoulder, preparing to sprint down the drive way, "What is it?" He scratched at his cheek, "Just…I'm not sure if they're completely trust worthy."

"Kukai, I already said I'd help them. Nothing's going to change my mind."

"I know, but…Okay, look. I'm not really good with this kind of thing, and I know I'm not exactly the brightest crayon in the box. But I can't help but think that whether or not we try and stop you, in the end you'll be in tears..." The door closed on my retreating back.

People were always telling me not to trust others. Don't trust strangers. Don't trust Ikuto. Don't trust Amulet. Don't trust Rima. And maybe if I had listened, nobody would have died on my watch. Nobody would have had to go through what we were going through right now. But if I had listened to them, I would still be back at Seiyo, being deceived by the very people who told me not to trust.

Dia, Yuuki, and Keiko would still be alive. Dia would still be up in her house, on the border of being allies and enemies with the Council. Yuuki would still be running into the pole, unaware of what became of her mother. Keiko would still be transferring schools every two years, back and forth. I wouldn't have gotten to know her. I wouldn't have gotten to truly know any of them.

But if I had listened, maybe Nagihiko wouldn't have found Amulet. No…maybe if I had listened, Amulet wouldn't have found Nagihiko. We would still be laughing. And they would still be on a mission to kill the Tsukiyomi's inconspicuously. And they would have killed each other. Instead of finding that they weren't so different, of learning that they could work together despite differences.

Or maybe not. But I would never know. I will never know whether or not I made the right decision of pursuing my angel.

I stretched my arms above my head, strolling up the sidewalk to our house. I jumped in surprise as Matt darted past me, going too fast for human eyes.

"What the…?" Hurrying, I followed him inside and up the stairs to my room. Before I could yell at him to get out, I spotted Ikuto sitting on the windowsill, back to us.

"Ikuto?"

He turned around, poker face impenetrable, "Yo."

"So…so they're really…dead?" Matt mused, slowly backing up into the wall. He slid to the floor, eyes never leaving Ikuto, "So…even you…He can…to even you…"

"Who can what to even me?" Ikuto swung over the window, cornering the other. I looked back and forth, trying to make sense of the scene. How many times, now, had something like this happened? I was starting to feel like a third wheel. An unwelcomed witness.

Matt glared up at him, "Uh-uh. You're little trick doesn't work on me anymore. You can keep those memories, by the way."

"Who says I kept them?"

"Guilty little-"

"Now, now." Ikuto smirked, towering over him, "I'm the guilty one? It was by your hand that she died, was it not? And by your wish. Who knows, maybe she would have survived if it had not been for you."

"At least I didn't run away. Have a sleepless night, Tsukiyomi Child? I wonder why it's raining acid down in the meadow. Some Guardian you are."

"Is that all you can do? Say at least you didn't run away, and try to focus on the other's mistakes? How pathetic." Ikuto strode past us, casually walking down the hallway. Sparing another glance to Matt, I followed him out, "Ikuto! Wait up!" I grabbed his arm, "I went to visit Kukai. He showed me some things."

"Doesn't matter, you didn't learn anything." He shrugged out of my grasp, disappearing before I could utter another word. Frustrated, I returned to my room. The door was closed, and I couldn't get it open. I banged my fist against the wood, "Oi, open this door!"

"Amu."

Rima gestured for me to follow her, "Hotori asked me to come get you."

"What is it?"

"Your other friend has woken up."

XXX

_And it seems like yesterday, it was just a dream. But those days are gone, and just memories. And it seems like yesterday, it was just a dream. But those days are gone…_

XXX

"You're awake!" I breathed, grasping Nagihiko's hand in mine, "Are you okay?"

He frowned, "Huh?"

"You've been asleep for over a week!"

He went rigid, staring at me with wide eyes, "I…I have…?" Tadase leaned over my shoulder, "You must be starving. We should go see if we can find a blood donor."

"Blood…donor…No!" Nagihiko hissed, disgusted, "I don't need a donor! I'm perfectly capable to find my own meal!" I sighed, "The closest place with animals bigger than a bird is the zoo. I'm pretty sure they'll notice a missing animal."

Tadase nodded, taking a few steps back, "We should go to the park, there's bound to be someone there…"

"I'm not drinking from a mentally ill human! I'm not taking anything from a _human_!" He attempted to free his hands from mine.

"Look, you can't even get your hand free, there's no way you can go out hunting." I reasoned, knowing that with enough pressuring, he would eventually give in, "It's either some random stranger, or one of us. But you need more than either of us can offer. So you should take a little bit from multiple people."

"Fujisaki-sama." Matt brushed my hands aside, "You need your strength."

XXX

"Ha, ha, ha! That tickles!"

I watched as the old man fell asleep, cradling the bag full of fruit. Nagihiko glared at the ground, wiping the drop of blood from his mouth, "There. Ten people, can we go home now?" Matt shook his head, "One more, okay?" I huffed, "What about you?"

"What _about _me?" He growled, stalking down the path to the next victim. Tadase glanced at me, "Did something happen?" Taking a deep breath, I shrugged, "Who knows."

"How do you think he'll react when he learns about Mashiro-san?" The blond continued, nodding towards Nagihiko. I smiled wryly, "Not well." He shook his head sadly, "I'm starting to doubt whether you have any idea of what you're planning to do."

I remained silent, following after the other two. For the first time in a while, I thought about my position in our group. I also realized that if it hadn't been for Rima and her companions, I would be the only female left. Seeing as Miki, Utau, and Souko weren't seen around much anymore. I chuckled inwardly, remembering the old joke I would constantly repeat in my mind. Shaking a fist slightly, I whispered, "Someone get my agent on the phone."

"Amu!" Chika ran up beside me, "You guys, come quickly!"

Tadase immediately went on the alert, "What is it?" She scowled, "Does it matter?" I blinked, following after her.

We ended up in another part of the park, facing an innocent looking playground. Rima nodded slightly to let us know she knew we were there.

A man sat on the railings near the slide, staring nervously down at us. He gulped, "What do you want?" ShikiTi unsheathed her katana, grinning widely, "You've been a greedy little Basterd, ya know? Creeps like you really annoy me." My eyes found the toys scattered around the ground, red drops here and there. Bile would have raced up my throat if I had eaten anything.

Tadase put a steadying hand on my shoulder, protectively taking a step forward. I frowned, slightly annoyed at how he did this almost _possessively_. The man leaned back, staring at the sky and licking his lips, "Little girls shouldn't play with knives."

"Who's playing?" She rocked back on her heels, quickly jumping up over him. Raising the sword above her blond head, ShikiTi smirked smugly. My hair swayed to the side as someone brushed past us.

Nagihiko landed with a thud beside me, blinking up at the sky, "Now _that _was weird."

"Out of the way, idiot!" ShikiTi hissed, jumping back to the ground. The man had fallen from the railings, landing on the little deck that led to the slide entrance. Matt crouched above him, holding the katana by the blade. He straightened up, tossing the sword back to her, "I accept my punishment for betraying his orders."

"You accept what now for who now?" Chika shook her head, sauntering back over to us, "Really, who talks like that?"

ShikiTi swung the Katana through the air, slicing a passing butterfly perfectly in half, "Bring it." Matt jumps onto the side railings, preparing to leap forward.

I blinked my eyes rapidly, something felt out of place. I glanced back to the man, who had still not made any move to stand up. He watched them curiously, obviously he had had no intention of asking for help, and had had no prior knowledge that he would be assisted anyways. His gaze traveled to us, lifting an eyebrow. My breath hitched, staring into the crimson eyes.

He had no aura.

Nagihiko pulled on my sleeve, "Who's that?"

Chika grinned sheepishly, "Heh, just some rouge. Sorta clever 'cause he's so old, ya know?" I frowned, "And why did you drag us here, so importantly?"

"Rima-san's orders." She shrugged, "Why does she do anything, really?" Nagihiko stiffened, "Rima…as in…M-Mashiro R-R-Rima?"

"The one and only." Chika tilted her head to the side, white hair swishing to the side, "Hey, now that I think about it, you guys look awfully familiar." His face paled as he leaned against a tree, "As in…the Council? Oh great, what else did I miss? Did Keiko destroy the kitchen again?"

Tadase and I exchanged a glance. Nagihiko stared warily, "Wait, what happened? Huh? What day is it?"

"Six days 'till Christmas." I muttered, watching intently as Matt and ShikiTi exchanged blows, neither seemingly growing tired. The man stood up, sitting back on the railings and enjoying the fight. Rima leaned back against a tree, ignoring our conversation. I gulped, now truly considering the possibility of a violent reaction from my friend. He wasn't exactly all that stable lately.

I was shaken from my thoughts as the man cried out in fear. Matt turned slightly, just as ShikiTi lunged forward.

TBC…

Suki: Fufufu~ So~ Can anybody guess what the title means? *Evil grin*

Yuuki: *sighs* I he- *gets whacked with book*

Suki: no you! D=

Everyone: ARIGATOU!

(Final Word Count: 1866)


	21. Anything

Chapter 21: Anything

_I was shaken from my thoughts as the man cried out in fear. Matt turned slightly, just as ShikiTi lunged forward._

Time slowed down for me, as if somebody had pressed slow motion on the remote. In my confusion, I momentarily wondered if there even _was_ such a button.

ShikiTi's Katana pierced through Matt's back, blood trickling from his lips as he gaped at the sky. She twisted it roughly before pulling the blade, dripping with blood, from his flesh. My hand shot to my mouth, I didn't want to see somebody else die, I didn't wanna.

Matt took a wobbly step forward, leaning against the playground's slide, "Shii…sama…"

ShikiTi held the sword defensively, "Hmm?" He swayed to the right, weakly attempting to keep a grip on the slide before tumbling to the ground.

I jumped as Nagihiko reached around me, snatching up a long branch and dashing out, branch raised high above his head.

A familiar wind chime laugh.

Nagihiko swung the branch furiously, missing the raven-haired head. Amulet smiled, spinning elegantly away, "Hello, children." The rouge gasped as another figure appeared next to him. Shii peered over the railings of the playground, some unknown emotion flashing through his crimson eyes.

"Why-" _Swish. _Miss. "-won't-" _Swoosh. _Miss. "-you-" _Swing. _Miss. "-DIE?" Nagihiko hissed, branch exploding into splinters in his grip.

Amulet almost frowned in pity, only to smile cruelly again, "What an awful child. Is the question not already answered?" She ducked beneath the rapidly thrown pieces of wood, hooking her foot behind his knee. Nagihiko yelped as he was tripped, glaring up at his opponent.

"I'm already dead." She laughed, vanishing into the wind. She then appeared next to the man, tracing patterns into the air, "Do with them what you please." The rouge cried out when the leaves rustled around them, quickly dispatched as they disappeared.

Shii jumped down from the playground, scooping the all but forgotten body into his arms, "Well, I'll take my leave then." Matt stared blankly to the side, not meeting our gaze. Whether it was because he was weak or shamed or maybe both, I wasn't sure.

"You can't take him."

Pin drop silence ensued, disrupted only by the sounds of far away traffic. Shii, smiling thinly, tightened his grip ever so slightly, "Oh?" I doubted anyone else noticed, possibly not even he himself. "I'm a very possessive person, kid."

I placed a hand on Nagihiko's shoulder, shooting him a warning glance. "Leave them be. Let's get back home."

He gaped openly, too weak to conceal his reaction. "W-what? We can't do that!"

Words and explanations died in my throat, leaving me to stare at my friend with saddened eyes. Tadase found a few of those words and strung them out to dry. "We have to."

xXx

I'd often been told that I overreacted much too often. But now, watching this scene unfold before me, I wondered how I could possibly be that bad.

Compared to Nagihiko, anyways.

"Why didn't you guys even TRY to stop him?" Said overreact-er stormed through the living room with all the force in his recently fed veins. "I mean- he's obviously got something to do with Amulet, and anything to do with _her _is bad news. Who was it anyways? I've never seen him. Feels like I should recognize him, which isn't good news either. What I'm TRYING to say is – "

"He'll be fine." I quirked my lip up in a half smile, "Matt's old enough to take care of himself. And I doubt Shii would do anything too bad, anyways." Yeah. Nothing _too _bad, I suppose. Not that I trusted him much.

I brought a hand to my mouth, tapping my finger against my cheek. Come to think of it, that look on his face when the sword went though…

With a grimace, I quickly came up with a quick excuse – the blood. Yes. The yummy, yummy blood was everywhere. That was it. Shii liked the blood. So he was worried there wouldn't be enough left for a midnight snack.

I think.

"Did- but- that was Shii? Like the…the…the THING- guard- AMU!"

"Wh-what?"

"HE'S WITH THE COUNCIL!"

"I know…like Amulet, right?" I sighed. You could almost see the steam come from his ears as his brain's cogs slowly turned. Information overload.

"_Yes_." Pulling at his hair, Nagihiko shook his head, "Oh god, I think I'm going to be sick. Just thinking of one of us being in that guy's hands…And after hearing those rumors, too!"

"Rumors?"

Tadase finally decided to let his presence be known, speaking up for the first time since we got home, "It was a few years ago. The Council members had a sudden spark of curiosity in gossip. You know. Human influence. There were some regarding the…mysterious…ways of the guard dogs."

"Guard dogs?" My head spun. "Please remember that I don't know all that secret Council lingo you guys throw out there. Sometimes I think you do it just to hear me ask what this or that really means."

The blond took a sip from his mug of blood tablet a la mode, "Well, whether or not any of the rumors were true, it doesn't matter. We can't make any judgments on 'he said that she said that Fredy said that blahdy blah dy blah'."

"You didn't even tell me any of the rumors." Pout. Sniffle. No one wants to let Amu in on the gossip. No.

Nagihiko plopped down on the couch, successfully accomplishing to build a trench on his way there. I sat next to him as Tadase blinked, "Oh, you wanted to know? I really don't think it matters though. I'm sure Koumori will come skipping in any second now and be his usual, chipper, obnoxious self. Just like before."

"He hasn't been so chipper lately." I grumbled.

Naghiko pinched the bridge of his nose with a wince, "You make him sound like a total fruit loop somehow."

"Like the ones at the bottom of the bag. The ones that are covered by all the tiny pieces of the ones that were crushed. So they're extra colorful." I added oh so helpfully.

Tadase yawned, heading towards the stairs, "Mhmm…Wake me up when the sun goes down."

As he climbed the stairs, I noticed Nagihiko suddenly looked unsure, "Uhm…speaking of which…where are we?"

"Oh, I forgot. You just woke up." I forced a smile to my face, "You must be exhausted. I'll help you make a clean bed, if you'd like."

xXx

I had just settled into the couch again, done with checking on Rima, done with getting Nagehiko to sleep, and done with warming up a mug of coffee that I couldn't actually drink.

The smell soothed my nerves. My whole body relaxed with a smile. Mmm… My dad used to smell like this. Like coffee.

This was the smell of home.

I must have nodded off soon after the thought, and I dimly wondered how I had managed to keep from spilling the cooling coffee, because when I came to it was to the sound of the creaking door.

I was on my feet in an instant, fingers curling tightly around the coffee mug as the smell of an unfamiliar strong perfume reached my nose. Ugh. Too much.

"I thought you were asleep." Matt closed the door softly. The smile on his face looked painfully fake. "Where is everyone?"

The faint scent of blood was masked by the perfume, but it was still there. My lip twitched. Something else. He was trying to cover up something else. "They're asleep. Where have you been?"

"That's good. Tsukiyomi's not here, right?" He dropped the keys on the table, leaning on it for a moment before limping his way towards the stairs. I grabbed his arm as he passed by me, raising an eyebrow as he flinched. Matt refused to meet my gaze, "What is it?"

My fingers slipped from the unfamiliar jacket that seemed too big for him, and he took this as a chance to hurry up the stairs, away from my questioning gaze.

Moments later, the water turned on somewhere upstairs, and I headed to the kitchen to wash my coffee mug.

I had a feeling we wouldn't be seeing Shii for a while. I was determined to find out why.

XXXxxxXXX

"_S-stop!" I gasped, trying to claw his arm away from me. The memory of sharp steel slicing through my body was not an old one, and it continued to replay at the back of my mind as his fingers eagerly pushed further into the wound._

"_That's a wish you can't pay for in just blood." Shii smirked, his other hand ghosting over my side. "Not if you want to be healed, too."_

_Somewhere in the background, Amulet was commenting to the man she'd just kidnapped that she'd been worried Shii had had a soft spot for one of his servants._

"_What do you w-want then?" I hissed, squirming as the bed sheets beneath me slowly became soaked with my blood._

"_What will you give me?"_

_The word was barely past my lips when I saw how his eyes lit up, "Anything!" And for the first time since we'd first made that contract, I was afraid. Of Shii._

I stepped out of the cold shower, listening as Amu hummed softly in the kitchen downstairs. Ignoring the towels on the rack, I leaned against the sink, staring hard into the mirror.

Even after spraying the bottle of perfume I found until it was empty, even after taking the longest cold shower I could remember ever taking, even after scrubbing at my skin until it was pink, I still felt uncomfortable in my own skin.

Finally, I fell to my knees with a muffled sob of his name.

TBC…

Yuuki: In case you can't tell, the last part is supposed to be in Matt-Matt's POV

Suki: Oh and we've given up on trying to keep the spotlight off of everyone's favorite OC because we failed already so what's the point? Hehee~ Besides, I doubt anybody still reads this fic XD we haven't updated in over a year!

Yuuki: If anyone IS reading this, then is it clear what happened to Koumori? (is obsessing over that part) I didn't wanna go out and say it bluntly but I'm not sure if I got the point across ok…

Yoru: Review nya~


	22. Falling

Chapter 22: Falling

I had fallen asleep soon after waking Tadase up, and I didn't wake up again until the following morning. Stretching my arms above my head, I descended the stairs with a yawn.

"Good morning." Hikaru looked up as I entered, the TV remote resting on his lap. "Your blond friend returned a short while ago, he showed me this television box."

"G'morning." I yawned again, plopping down next to him. "Aren't you a bit old to be watching Dragon Tales?" Sigh. Tadase, if you show the kid how to use the TV, at least show him which channels are for his age.

He was at least a century older than us, though. So I suppose there weren't many things that would be considered for 'his age' anyways.

After flipping through the channels for a while, we settled for animal planet before I got up to leave.

It was about time I pay Ikuto a visit.

XXXxxxXXX POV Change

I woke up to the sun on my face.

It was a pleasant feeling. A warmth against my eyelids that I'd never really took the time to enjoy before. On any other day, being awoken by the light would've been irritating.

But today it had saved me from a nightmare.

I sighed, leaning my head against the back of the chair I'd fallen asleep on. There was no meadow last night, no forest. Only my thoughts to keep me company and they were no good. And this was troublesome, because who's to say it wouldn't happen again.

Who's to say I wouldn't go insane.

After all, if Heaven is for the angels and Hell is for the demons, then this dream world is for the damned. What would that make me, if I wasn't allowed in anywhere?

I left the thought there, trying to soak a feeling of safety from the warmth the sun could provide. Trying to keep my mind blank so as not to think of any unwanted thoughts. Trying to pretend the world didn't exist and everything was fine.

"You're alive!"

My eyes snapped open. The warmth disappeared as Nagehiko threw himself across the room and nearly knocked me off the chair. "I thought that freak was going to kill you and that I'd never see you again! Then I would never have the chance to tell you how much I hate that you made me feed off those people but at the same time I don't care anymore because I realized how much I'd miss you if you died or something and dammit I'm starting to sound like some mushy girl from some drama but you're my friend and-"

"Don't touch me!" The words were out of my mouth before I could think on it. I stared at him with wide eyes as I scrambled backwards until my back hit the wall. "Don't touch me…" I repeated, as if it would make it any less strange that I was freaking out over (seemingly) nothing. "Please…"

That final word was the icing on the cake. Nagehiko's eyebrows shot up into his hair, the hand that had saved the chair let it topple to the floor.

He approached slowly, as if I was some sort of injured animal, with his hands held out and words that I didn't pay any attention to.

It was all too easy, and perhaps my eyes were failing me or something, to imagine a different face heading towards me. Too easy to stare into crimson eyes and imagine it was Shii's hands so close to me now.

Pain shot up my spine at the memory, my legs trembled as I felt the ghost of a hand against my wrists. The bruises ached and the small amount of blood I had left flooded into my face.

Nagehiko backed away then, rushing out of the room and calling, "Amu! Amu! Something's wrong! Amu!"

He left me alone. Traitor.

I pulled a blanket from the bed, wrapping it around myself and trying to get my mind focused on something else. On anything else. Oh, anything but _that_.

Too late.

_He _was here. He had to be. How else could I explain the freezing feather-light touches against my side? The room flashed briefly before I scrunched my eyes shut. There was no carpet against my feet, instead there was stained silk sheets soft against my back. But, more than that, there was Shii.

Blood that had poured from my earlier wound had somehow made it everywhere in the room. More blood dripped from my neck, where Shii continued to press gentle kisses.

I would have laughed at the gesture, if I had not been in so much pain. _Gentle_ kisses. Even as bones cracked and healed only to be crushed again under his hands. Even as my back arched painfully in an attempt to get away. Away from Shii as he traveled places on myself even I had not.

Stupid Nagehiko. If he hadn't come in, if he hadn't reminded me then I wouldn't have to remember-

"Shii." I whimpered, pulling the blanket tighter and trying to bury my face in the carpet. I shouldn't be acting this way. I shouldn't be having these thoughts. I should be out trying to find the bastard and kill him. I should…I should…

Somewhere in the room, Amulet had been laughing. Making humiliated tears spill from my closed eyes as I begged him to stop. Begged. A degrading term. Shii paused, just for a moment, trying to get me to look at him. I refused. He continued.

I would not scream. I would not make another noise.

Faintly, I could hear the door open. I could hear Nagehiko's worried voice hovering above me as I covered my head with my arms. Trying to shake myself from the memory. Before it's really too late. Before blood-stained lips ghost along my jaw.

Shii's fingers dig into my hip then, as those lips whispered against my ear. I had almost expected him to begin saying sweet nothings, just to mock me. To make it all the worse and to make Amulet giggle happily. I might have preferred that, over what he'd actually said.

The way our contract worked, how most did, was I made wishes. He'd grant them, at a price, and he could not refuse them unless _I _refused to pay the price. And he, on the other hand, made orders. In _our_ specific deal, there were no restrictions to those orders. He didn't have to tell me when he meant it as an order or not. When he did, I would just know.

Tadase's voice had joined Nagehiko's at some point. And now hands gripped at my shoulders and attempted to get me off the floor. I struggled against them, glad for the distraction even if it only lasted a moment.

Against my ear was Shii again, a second of hesitation that may or may not have been there. Amulet clapped excitedly, and he angled himself just a tad differently.

"_Say you love me. Scream it. And mean it."_

Cruel. He was being cruel for no other reason than to torment a confused mind that couldn't refuse. An odd request that made Amulet squeal again.

A line from a book had come to mind then. Back from when Gozen had insisted we read every book in his library. No title or plot came to mind, just something about crime, from the perspective of an insane psychopath. '_It wasn't just the physical act of feeling someone's life bleeding out of them through his own hands, it was the physiological and emotional trauma he left on the survivors that gave him his thrill_.'

The pain had slowly bled into bliss, my arms were released but just as quickly wrapped encouragingly around his neck. My head spun, lips sloppily trying to attach to his shoulder. I hadn't said it yet. I was trying not to. Maybe, by some pity, he'd take the order back before I completely caved in. There had been no time placed with that order, but my tongue burned with the need to say it.

It almost didn't matter. Not with all the other embarrassing things coming from my mouth at that point. I didn't really want to believe it, that it was my voice I was hearing.

Why had it suddenly changed this way? Why? Why? Why?

'_And mean it.'_

My eyes opened then, somehow I'd managed to keep them closed up until then. Pulling back just barely, Shii's crimson eyes had stared back, actual emotion floating through them for once. And I gave in.

"_I love you, Shii-sama_."

There was a flicker of regret on his face, just barely there, I'd ignored it and pulled him down. My lips attacked his, and one could hardly call it a kiss. It was most definitely his previous order that made me enjoy it anyway.

"Snap OUT OF IT, you IDIOT!"

A bucket of cold water left me gaping up at the confused and angry face of none other than Tadase Hotori.

The blond lowered the bucket, frowning and eyebrows knitted together, "There. You seem relatively normal now." He was about to continue when Nagehiko cut him off, still keeping a few steps distance in case I freaked out again.

"Are you okay? You've been uh mumbling…stuff…for like an hour now."

I stared at them blankly and I felt as if I should say something, try to pretend everything was alright. My mind wasn't working fast enough, and left me to simply sit up and try to dry my hair with the soaked blanket.

Hiding my face, this gave me a few moments to collect myself. I took a few moments too long, but by the time Nagehiko yanked the blanket out of my hands, there was a smirk on my face.

"Hmm? It's called dreaming. I quote Tsukiyomi when I say this, I believe, and in different context but~ Even though I'm a vampire, I'm still a _guy_!"

"B-but that doesn't explain pushing me!" Nagehiko sputtered, cheeks turning read at the implication. "A-and I was worried!" He winced, more hurt than he was willing to admit.

"Do I really need to explain myself?" _Seriously, I can't think of wonderful excuses on the spot like this every three seconds! _The distraction was welcomed, at least. Even if I was now soaked from head to toe. My gaze traveled to Tadase, and his expression made the smirk slide off my face.

He glanced up, meeting my eyes. "Would you care to explain why the hell it looks like someone was using your neck as a chew toy?"

"W-well yesterday t-there was…these…uh really sexy vampire chicks and uh-"

"Bite marks heal, stupid, just like any other wound you'd get. I was talking with Hikaru yesterday, and apparently that's not true for those in contracts. Because when the contract is _made_, there has to be some sort of stamp on it, right? And Amu told me-…"

I ignored what he was saying, it was nothing I didn't know, and quickly tried to come up with something to get me out of this situation. He ended his little speech with something about abusive relationships and I chose that moment to spring to my feet and make a dead run for the door.

On any other day, I would have made it and left the both of them in the dust. I knew very well that in speed I had them both beat. Unfortunately, Nagehiko had just drank off a bunch of homeless people the day before, courtesy of _moi_, and then there was the little fact that my legs still felt like jello.

I didn't even make it to the door.

As the both of them wrestled me into a sitting position, I could briefly feel the whisper of lips against my ear. '_Say you love me. And mean it.'_ And in that brief moment I realized the indirect order I'd been given by those last two words. Realized that the order had already begun taking its toll.

A sob nearly ripped itself from my throat before I could stop it.

_I love you, Shii-sama._

XxxxxxxX Pov Change

"Kukai." I pouted, crossing my arms as he ranted on 'all the possibilities for this ability'. With a sigh, I slouched into the couch as he continued to spin near the computer. "As amazing as this all is, if I don't learn the basics I won't be able to do any of that, let alone protect myself." I was about to add that making sandwiches with ones aura did _not_ count as survival tactics, but decided not to break his heart.

He grinned, "Well, _Amu, _it's just really fascinating! I haven't been this interested in an ability in years! Did you know I worked as an informant once? I like knowing things. And knowing so much, yet there's still so much that's going on and I know nothing about it!" He threw his arms up, laughing excitedly.

I couldn't help but smile back, rolling my eyes. "Okay, okay. It's interesting. But if you really want to see all your ideas in 3-D, you should give me the basics."

It was his turn to pout.

"Oh, fine." Kukai huffed, turning back to his computer, "Go get us some food or something while I look stuff up."

"This plan I like." I gave him a quick pat on the shoulder before carefully making my way to the door. There was a whole new set of brand new holes in the floor thanks to his little experiments. It would have been amusing if I hadn't nearly twisted my ankle earlier.

Once in the kitchen, I searched around for their little bottle that Dia had given us, the one we put in food to make it edible for ourselves. Jeesh, it was about time we actually gave it a proper name. I'd have to ask him about it while we practiced, maybe Kukai had something in mind and I just didn't know about it.

On my way back to his room, a bag of chips in my arms, I happened to pass by Ikuto's room. I stared at the door with narrowed eyes, wondering if I should risk getting caught and take a peek inside. Possibly stealing one of his shirts.

And no matter what others may have told you, I, Amu Hinamori, am NOT a scent pervert…I just like the way he smells, okay? Is that SO hard to understand?

Carefully setting the noisy bag against the wall, I ventured quietly into the room. I hadn't planned on Ikuto jumping in through the window at that exact moment, but it worked to my advantage anyway.

"I-Ikuto!" I grabbed his arm before he could escape again, and he reluctantly met my gaze.

"Hey, Amu." Closing the window, Ikuto settled himself against it, crossing his arms and keeping eye contact with a frown. "What are you doing here?"

"Actually, Kukai's been showing me how to use my ability." I held my head just a little bit higher, "Guess what that means?"

He lifted an eyebrow.

"I can _use _it now. You don't have to worry about hurting me all the damn time." I explained, trying really hard not to sound too whiny. His narrowed eyes did _not_ encourage me, however. "Ikuto, please. Stop avoiding me."

The last part came out softly, I grabbed hold of his hand. I had to get him to stop being so overprotective. I had to. I was determined to and I would not give up until he decided he was not such a huge threat to me.

"You don't understand. Everything bad that has happened to you is _my _fault. If I had asked for a different dorm like I should have as soon as I met you, _none of this would have happened_. You would be in highschool. You would be stressing over senior exams and college. You would be worrying about normal things. Not about trying to control stupid abilities, about a whole cult of vampires after you. You'd be a normal person. You'd be alive."

"Not everything that's happened has been bad. And I think it's worth it."

Ikuto scrunched up his nose, as if offended. "We are _not_ having this conversation again. It's so…cliché."

"Then give it a chance and you'll never have to do it again." I squeezed his hand a little harder, and beamed happily when he squeezed back.

Massaging a circle into his forehead, Ikuto sighed. "I don't think this is a good idea. Amu, you could be human if it weren't for me."

"But I'm not. Not anymore. Accept it, Ikuto, what 'could have happened' didn't. And what 'could happen' might not. Can't you just _try_?"

With an expression that was not entirely convinced, he hesitantly began playing with my fingers. Holding both my hands within his and slowly bringing them to his lips. He mumbled something against them, making my heart flutter and a grin to stretch my face to previously thought impossible lengths.

"C-come again?" I breathed, hope making my eyes wide.

He pulled on my hands without warning, hugging me to him tightly. "Only because I love you, Amu. And I don't think I'd be able to stand staying away from you any longer."

TBC…

Yuuki: human memory never fails to amaze me…how the hell did I manage to remember that Ikuto quote from like…a whole lot of chapters ago after a year of not reading it? MEH! Just 9 chapters and a possible epilogue left, btw~

Anywho~ I'm neglecting my science project to write this, and I'll regret it tomorrow but that's not right now so…who cares? Right~! And while doing so, I had many moments of 'what the hell am I writing?' I don't know. I really don't. But as long as it keeps author's block away, it doesn't matter to me. Read at your own risk. I give another BL warning. Nothing really graphic, but-….wait…didn't I just say I didn't care? Aha~ I'm not even in this for reviews anymore~ (Is a review whore at heart, in case you didn't know)

BTW~ I'm planning on rewriting the whole Kyuuketsuki series (taking out those little parts near the start that seem too much like Twilight, y'kno) and making it into original fiction…SHOULD I POST IT? This q is directed at the three people who I predict will actually read this

If I do then it'll be on FictionPress, DA, or some other random website I find *shrug*

Bu-bye~


	23. Agreement

Chapter 23: Agreement

Of course, a certain _someone _had a habit of appearing whenever Ikuto decided to give us another chance.

"A-Amulet?" I couldn't help the annoyance that dripped from my voice. Always appearing, always causing trouble. I glanced to the side of the room where Nagehiko was practically hissing with hate.

"Now, now, before you all try something stupid and unnecessary," She smiled, eyes glinting with mischief, "I've only come to talk. I have an offer."

"We don't need anything from you." Nagehiko scowled, hands balling up into fists.

Ikuto and I had barely stepped through the door when we found none other than Amulet sitting on the living room couch. She'd greeted us with a signature smirk before the others had noticed her presence and came hurtling down the stairs.

This could not end well. Not if _she_ was involved.

She turned her head slowly towards him, lips forming a tight grin as her gaze traveled past Nagehiko, "Ah, look at you! Already up and walking so soon?"

Matt stiffened, biting on his lip as he took a few steps back. My eyes returned to Amulet as he disappeared into the other room. With a shrug, Amulet's attention went back to me, "Hmm, you should keep a closer eye on your friends," She practically purred, "We wouldn't want them getting hurt~!"

"Get to the point, what do you want?" Ikuto stepped in then, leaving the door open as he did so.

"I told you. I have an offer."

"Get on with it then. What is it?"

She sighed then, "Oh, how rude young people are nowadays. You haven't even offered me tea."

"You've already made yourself at home." Tadase grimaced as he noticed the boots on her feet were now propped up against the table.

My hands tightened into fists as she met my eyes, "Amulet, don't waste our time."

With a giggle that was too abrupt to be completely sane, Amulet gave a sort of dismissive wave of the hand. "Silly child, trying to be bold. I'm here because the former Gozen is here, and to offer my services."

"What kind of services?" I tried keeping my eyes steady, resisting the urge to glance down the hall to where I was sure Hikaru and his group were listening in from. Better not to give away their position in case she didn't already know, of course. Though it was unlikely. Highly so.

"I have access that little Hikaru does _not _anymore. Nor do any of you. The new Gozen is a pest that poses more of an annoyance than a helpful ally. I honestly don't intend on fighting him myself; it wouldn't be much a fight anyway. Ah, not worth my time, really. So if you children plan on disposing of him, it wouldn't take much effort on my part to aid you along." She finished with a grand smirk, leaning back as if we'd already taken her in with open arms.

"You expect us to believe that load of crap? That you'd do this of your own free will and not get anything in return?" Nagehiko curled his lip in disgust. He turned to me with a scowl, eyes calculating as he tried to figure out my thoughts.

Everyone turned to me then, waiting patiently as I gazed back in confusion. What? It was my decision to make now? Looking back at Amulet, I realized I didn't want this to sit on my shoulders. If she was lying and ended up betraying us, it would be my fault for trusting her at all.

But there was the slim chance that she really could help us. The last time we had been in the council building only because they had captured us and held us as prisoners.

Ikuto's hand caught mine, squeezing gently as I took a steadying breath. Reluctantly, I met Amulet's eyes again.

"Give me one good reason," I began slowly, trying to find anything in her expression to give her away, "for us to trust you."

She giggled again, "I have none."

Matt returned to the room then, gaze trained on the dust collecting in a corner. As he moved aside, Hikaru appeared from behind him. With a cough, he murmured, "Rima's group is out, so he refused to come in without a bodyguard."

Hikaru's eyebrow twitched just slightly, "Escort. I said _escort_."

"Whatever." Eyes darting back from the corner to a lone plant, Matt held his arms tightly across his chest, fingers curling around the material of a sweater. Hikaru stood comfortably beside him, chin high as if he could look down on each and every one of us. Which, I dimly noted in the back of my mind, was ridiculous, seeing as the top of his head barely passed the taller one's waist.

Amulet didn't spare them a glance. "I'm waiting, child. Accept or not, it's really no difference to me. But as you said earlier, don't waste my time."

Hikaru didn't take this so well.

"You should be asking _me _for these things." His little hands balled up into fists as he marched forwards. My feet made to dart forward, but Ikuto's hand stopped me from advancing.

Finally, she turned towards him. They stared at each other in tense silence, as I stood dearly hoping that Rima, ShikiTi, or Chika would come back and get him to leave. Amulet was an unpredictable person and I didn't know Hikaru well enough to guess what he would do based on her actions.

Tadase and Nagehiko had slowly travelled across the room before this silence. The two of them now stood next to me, trying to follow what was happening.

It was not the former Gozen _or _Amulet to shatter the silence, however.

"Where is he? Where is Shii-sama?" The outburst was least expected, and all heads snapped towards Matt again. His hand shot to his mouth, as if even he hadn't expected the words to leave his lips.

There was no grin on Amulet's face, just absolute loathing as she stared at him. "Shii?"

"H-he won't answer me." Embarrassment colored his face, "I don't _want _to see him, but-... you _know_ why _I have to_! He can't just ignore me after t-that-"

"He can." Amulet had apparently forgotten Hikaru again as she stood and stalked past the small blond. "You are a pet, an accessory. Know your place!" She'd gotten close enough now, too close really, and Ikuto's hand slipped from mine as I moved forward even before her hand had swung back.

I was two steps too late. By the time Tadase's and my arms had been within grabbing distance, the sound of a slap was already in our ears and a red hand shape was blooming on Matt's cheek.

Amulet shrugged us off, reaching down to where he'd fallen to grab the collar of his shirt and shake roughly. "You are not important. Not to Shii! Do you think you're the first? That it takes affection-"

"Shut up!" Holding onto her arms and feet dangling inches from the ground, he choked back what was not quite a sob, "I know all that! It's the order he gave me; he _has_ to take it back!"

"That's enough." Ikuto took hold of one of her wrists, grasp tightening until her fingers uncurled and Matt fell to the floor.

Yanking her arm back, Amulet spun on her heel, "I expect an answer by tomorrow, Amu."

I nearly jumped, momentary shock making my eyes wide. _I don't think she's ever called any of us by name before. Then again, I don't think she's ever gotten _angry _in front of us before either._

Pausing in the doorway just long enough to toss a grand smirk over her shoulder, Amulet slammed the door shut behind her. But in the pause, I didn't miss the sudden wetness springing to Matt's eyes.

"What did she say just now-"

_**Leave it.**_

I winced, having forgotten completely about what a headache it was when he decided to send thoughts like that. "But, she must have said something-"

"_**LEAVE IT!**_"

A gasp found itself past my lips at the pain, the voice echoing against my skull as well as out loud. Out of the corner of my eye I saw Tadase jump, not expecting the sudden yell.

Ikuto gave my shoulder a quick pat before following Matt as he tried to run up the stairs.

XXXXXXPOV CHANGE

"If I didn't tell even Nagehiko - who I've known since I was a kid, mind you - what makes you think you'll be able to get anything out of me?"

I sank into the chair in my room, even the small amount I had walked so far today making me exhausted. The long gash on my thigh had gone unnoticed until I tried walking earlier. Now it hurt like hell and I briefly wondered how Shii's blunt nails had managed to make it so deep in the first place.

Ikuto kicked the door shut with his foot, a tight lipped grin on his face, "Because your precious master had no problem in doing so."

"What?" The word came out as a growl, and seemed to amuse him greatly.

"I didn't follow you to get information. You really don't matter to me; really, feel free to die and end being such an annoyance. I followed you because Amu was worried. That's all." He shrugged.

"Don't ignore my question." I somehow managed to find enough energy to stand up again.

"Hmm? I don't recall one."

How badly I wanted to just bash his face in. How badly I wanted to watch his confidence be torn to shreds.

"You implied you spoke to Shii-sama."

Ikuto smirked in amusement at the honorific. "I don't usually chat with him, if that's what you're wondering. I wasn't _expecting _to run into him on my way home."

"You're talking more than you usually do. Get to the point." I was getting impatient. Ikuto wasn't one to prolong conversations. I'd gotten used to him trying to speak to me as little as possible.

He shrugged again in that non caring way.

"You're acting weird."

"So are you." He frowned then. "He asked me if I'd seen you since last night. Told him no and why'd it matter anyway. I didn't expect him to go and practically beg me to-"

"Not beg. Shii-sama wouldn't beg to you. He doesn't beg to _anyone_."

Letting out an exasperated breath, Ikuto slumped back against the door, "Fine, fine. He _asked _- there happy? - me to keep an eye on you and protect you like some sort of princess." He scowled then, "I'm not going to do it, by the way. So don't expect me to save your ass."

The light fluttering in my chest at the words came unexpectedly. _Shii-sama had asked someone to protect me?_

Implying that he actually cared.

I had to swallow back the bile that threatened to rise in my throat. There was no reason for me to feel any happiness over this. Shii didn't care. He must've wanted to make sure I'd keep my mouth shut. Or something.

But he most definitely _did not care_.

"What else did he say?" My throat was dry, making me cough before looking back up for an answer.

"Nothing much. He looked awful, you know. Like he hadn't eaten anything in months- except that I knew he had because his eyes were bright red. He did say that he'd done something horrible before he left."

"Something horrible?"

"Must've been pretty bad, if it had him feeling guilty. He does kill people on a daily basis for fun."

Another flutter.

_Say you love me. Scream it. And mean it._

Why had he give the order anyway? Part of me wanted to believe that it wasn't just cruelty that had helped him come up with it. And I knew that that part of me was exactly why the order was so cruel.

Ikuto crossed his arms, eyes narrowing in a scrutinizing manner. "I...want to know. What is it that could make _both_ of the Council's heartless guard dogs act so strangely?"

"What makes you say that?"

"It must be why Amulet got angry earlier, too. You know what it is. Tell me."

I shivered at the feeling of cold chains scraping against my skin. I looked down at my arms, straining my eyes to try and see what I knew was there.

There was a crash somewhere downstairs, and the feeling of a huge weight pressing on my chest vanished as Ikuto swung out and through the door. I shot out of my chair, finding enough energy to catch the door before it made an impact with the wall beside it.

A hiss of pain escaped from between my teeth. I shakily removed my hand from the wood, watching the angry red marks slowly begin to bleed. With a whimper, I clenched my fingers together and cradled the wounded hand to my chest. Just another scrape to add to the list.

The feeling of being watched. My shoulders tensed as a cold puff of air was breathed down my neck.

I lashed out with my uninjured hand, ready to tackle any intruder. But there was no one there.

The eyes I had felt earlier disappeared as I scanned my room in confusion. The creepy atmosphere chased me from the room, giving enough strength to my feet to get me down the stairs.

Tadase was sitting on the coffee table, head on his knees and fingers pulling at his hair. He didn't even glance up as I approached him. He mumbled, "Amu decided to accept Amulet's offer. Nagehiko freaked out. Again."

I stopped when I was only a few steps from the table, still holding my throbbing hand carefully. "Hmm?"

"He's a...fricking coward...Why does he have to be so _obsessed _with her?" Slowly, he raised his blond head to look at me. "Why does Nagehiko have to overreact when it comes to Amulet? He always acts out like an idiot."

I would have been angry. I should have been, really. But exhaustion was slowly eating at the small amount of energy I had left. I was much too tired to be angry.

"You're the one who _chose_ to be involved with the supernatural. I'd consider that much more idiotic on your part than being forced into it without knowing what it is. But that's just me."

The blond rose completely from his seat, hands quickly grabbing the fabric of my sweater, "Can't you keep your sarcasm to yourself?"

Somehow, a smirk managed to slip onto my face even as my vision began to blur. "Can't you keep your hands to yourself?"

He immediately let go, arms pulling back as if he'd just been bit. Practically fuming, Tadase brought his fist up and made to punch me. It was easy to dodge the sloppy punch, as it whizzed right over my head. A fight with Tadase, with no one around to interfere, was something I'd been looking forward to for a long time. Unfortunately, I was in no condition to be moving so quickly, let alone try to actually hit back.

It was a simple second that threw me off. A moment of nausea that had the room spinning and unfocused. My feet tripped over one another, making me stumble right into the chest of my opponent. On instinct, my arms reached out to grab hold of his shoulders, bringing my face to settle snugly against his neck.

It didn't register that this was _Tadase_, of all people. All that mattered in my mind was that there was hardly any blood in my system and that his skin looked so deliciously thin at that moment.

Blood had never tasted so good.

TBC...

Yuuki: Heeeeh...okay...I have a confession...This has actually been sitting on my laptop for like...months...I just needed to add in the whole Tadase part. Whoops my bad, guys

At least it's a bit longer than I ususally make my chapters, right? riiiight?

So remember how I said I'd be rewriting KN into original fiction? Well I started that and it turned out completely different. Lol Well the basic basic (baaaasic) plot and concept is still the same for the most part heeehee. It's located on the lovely wattpad~ I can't post links here but there's one on my page so go check it out please~

So far only the prologue is up because I wanna finish up this and some of my other fanfics before seriously devoting myself to it. I have been working on the outline though.

KI Countdown: 8 chapters and an epilogue MEEEEP

Kay~ Please review~ Here's the place where even if you don't have anything nice to say, you should still say something~


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